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irMrsStroh. 
26 Apr .1913 






THE NEW YORK 
PUBLIC LIBRARY 

ASTOft, teMOX AHO j 

tilo m f«ui«oation». I 







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2 

O 

o 

H 
U 

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ITALY 

BY . .' 

JOHN S.C; ABBOTT 

WITH A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER OF RECENT EVENTS 

By WILFRED C. LAY, Ph.D. 



ILLUSTRATED 




j»« »» * '»•-•• 



NEW YORK 

PETER FENELON COLLIER 

MDCCCXCVin 



;tIe NEW YORK 

PUBLIC LIBRARY 

^TOR. tFMOX AHD 
TILO H fOUMDAffWItS* 

^ «'« L 



Moordliig to Act of OongreM, in tfie year 1871, 
Bt B. B. RUSSELL. 
1 the Offio« of the Librarian of Congress, at Washingtoa. 



OovrueBV bt Dodd, Hsad, and Comfavt, Ifltt, 



• • • • ••••« 

• • • • • • a 

• • • • • •• •• • < 

t • • ••• • • • ••• « 



••• 



• • • • • • • • • 

• ••• •• ,•• •• 

• ••••• ••• •• 



CONTENTS 



OHAPTEB I. 

LBeENBABTBOMI. 

Fbom 700 B. o. TO 488 b. d 

Itai Italian Pknikbitla.— Uncsbtain Histobt.— Lbobnd or Tbot.—Thb Fugr 

OF JSlTBAB.— LANDIira IK ItALT.— WaB8 WITH NaTITB TbIBBB.— ALBA Lo1I«A. — 

Thb Btobt or BojcvLoik an]» Bbmub.— Tub Foundatiom or £omb.— Tub Bafb or 
THB Sabinm. — Gontinubo GoNQirx8T8.-*T&AifBLATioir orJEU>MULCTB.— Thb Hobatd 
AMD Cubiatu.— CoNQVBrr or Alba Lomoa.— Aocbsbion or Tabquxniiib.— ^BBTiin 

TULUUS. — HlB DbUOOBATIO BwaT. — AUOBSaiON or TabQUUIIUS BaPBBBUB.— Tu 

Books or tkb Sibtl.— Tbb Stobt or LuoBBnA.-~BAViBUiBHT or Tabquib.^ 
Bbion or THB Consulb.— Insubbbotxom or thb Commons U 



OHAPTBB II. 

THE PBET0B8HIP, DBGEMYIBATE, AND OONBULATBi 

Fbom 498 b. a to 488 b. o. 

iVOBT or COBIOLANna.-»APPOINTMBNT Or A DiOTATOB.— AOHUYBMENTS Of OOfOOr- 
HATUB.— WaB WITH TUB j£<iUIANS AND YCLSOIAMS. — TuK SOLDIEBS EBrUBB TO 

FiOHT.— Infamous Gonduot op tub Noblbs.— Appius Glaudius.— YnaiiriA 
Claimed as a Fuoitivb Blavb. — Blain by ubb Fatubb.— Insubbbotion or tub 
Pboplb. — Its Sdcoess. — Gonspibaoy or tub Youno Nobles. — K^bbo, son of Gai« 

OWNATUS. — GiNOINNATDS OUOSEN GONSUL. — GUANGH 2i: -EIC GlIABAO^BE.— ;AYEX' 

TINE Hill Taken by the Commons.— ImpeagumiJnV^/ Ap?i js Olaudios.— 1^' 
PoPULAB Cause Tbiumpuant.— The Decemtibs liEj&crzD ^N£*£zp£LLi.c.::-.fH* 

TBODUOnOH or TUB CONSULATB. ^.....^...^ 



CHAPTER III. ^ 

CONFLICTS AT HOME AND W*a&S ABBOAD 

Fbom 483 b, o. to 818 b. a 

PtnrxB or ah Abistoobaot.— Demands or the Plebeians.— Stbvoolb or thb 
Patbioians against Populab Biohts.— The OrriOE or Cbnsob.— Its Despot- 
ism. — Invasion op the Gauls. — Defeat of the Eoman Abmt. — Sack of Bomb.— 
Boob or the Capitol.— Teems of Pbacb.— Manlivs. — Hia Philanthbopt ato 
Condemnation. — Despotism of Gamillub. — Conquest of the PmvERNATiANSrf^ 
Wab with the Bamnites.— Disasteb at the Caudine Fobkb — Maqnanimitt or 
Poimus.— Chabaotbristio Boman Pbidb and Heboism 81 



OONTBNTS. 



CHAPTER IV. 
BOMB, GKEECE, AND OABTHAGB 

Fbom 818 b. a to Ml b. o 

Tbm Dmastbr or thb Oaudins Fobks Avsnobix— Pabtibs dt Boiii.--Obmoobaiot 
OF Appius Clauoiub. — loNOBLE Tbbatmbnt OF Pomtius.~8tatb of thb Woblo 
4T THIS TiMB. — Coalition against KoifB.»-TnB Gbbbks Join the Coalition.^ 
Ptbbbub Lands on tbb Italian Fbninbdla.->Pboobb8s of tub Wab.— Expul- 
bion of tub Geebks.— Invasion of Sioilt.— Wab witu Cabthaqb.— Invabiom 
OF Afbioa. — Stobt of Bbodlus.— Yiotobibs and Dbfbats. — Bomb Tuuxphabt. 
•-SioiltannbxbdtoBomb %4 



CHAPTER V. 
THB PASSAGE' OF THE ALPS BT HANNIBAL. 

Fbom 241 b. o. to 217 b. a 

Ibtasion of Spain bt Cabthaob.— Wab Bbnbwbd bbtwxbn Bomb and Gab* 
TUAOK.— Nbw Gaulish Invasion.— Annihilation of thb Gaulibb Abmt.— 
Conquest of Cisalpine Gaul. — Hannibal Crosses tub Bhone. — Fassaob of thb 
Alps. — ^Invasion of Italy. — Battles on the Tioino and tub Po.— Disoomfi- 
tube of tub Bomans. — Hannibal bntbbs Tusoant. — Gbbat Battle of Thbabt- 
javB. — ^Annihilation of the Bom an Abmt. — Commbmobatbd bt Btbon • . W 



CHAPTER VI. 
THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS OF HANNIBAL. 

From 217 b. o. to 204 b. o. 

Dbtastatino Maboh of H ANN iMAL.— Composition of his Army. — Tebbob nr 
EoMK.— Winter Quarters in Apulia.— Dissensions in tub Boman Army. — Thb 
Battlkof Cannes. — Annihilation of the Boman Army.— Inoreasino Peril or 
Hannibal. — Bktreat from Tifata. — Marcu upon Bomr. — Siege of Capua. — 
Slavery of Captives. — The March of IIasdrubal. — Passage of the Alps. — 
Nbw Victories of Hannibal.— Death of Hasdrubal and Destruction or 
•. Sa&I 4pftBiV-A'H& HbaI) * 62 JH/sdrubal.— Exultation in Bomb.~Db8Paib or 

.'ibtaJibibal'**.../^-.::....:!.. iio 



• •••• • •• 



^•'^ -CHAPTER VII. 
d<$i^ QUESTS AND INTEBNAL FEUDS. 



i^ROM 204 B. O. TO 121 B. 0. 



3oiPia— His Chabaotbb and Career. — The Conquest of Spain. — Quellxno tbb 
Mutiny. — Militaby Prowess of Hannibal.— Hb Bbtibxb fbom Italy. — Sonrao 
Invades Africa.— Destruction of the Carthaginian Army. — ^Trucb and 
Humiliation of Carthage. — Landing of Hannibal in Africa. — Battlb or 
Zama.— Close of the Second Punic Wab.— Conqubbt of Gbbbob.— Invasion or 
Sybl^— Third Punic Wab*— Destruction op CABTHAOB.~^TiiB Numidian Wab. 
— Barbarian Invabiom— Thb PLEBBiAir amp Patbmxab OoMruor.— Gbaocbus 
andOotavius liO 



OHAPTBB YIII. 

THB SOCIAL WAB. 

Fbom 121 b. a «o 82 b. a 

OemKUPnoH or thi Nobles.— K>btijb88HB8S or thb Pboplb.— DmrAOOoiSM or 
ItAkiirs.— Bbbvils Insubbbctiom in Bioilt.— Hbboum or Evmvb.— Misbbibb or 
THE Skkvile Wabs. — Sumptuary Laws.— Stbuoolb roB Riohtb or Citizbnsbip. 

— COMBBKGBHBNT Or TUB SOOIAL Wab. — GoNTBMn.ATBD BBOBaABIZATION OF 

Italy.— Sylla.—Wab witu Mithbiuates.— Intbbkal Dissbksiomb at Bomb.— 
Civil War in thb Steebts.— Vibration or the Pendulitm or Pabtibb.— Oiwka. 
— Tmb Kallyino or thb Pboplb.— Mabiits Broallbo.— Sobnbb or Ababoht.— 
Dbatu or Mabiub. — Rbtubn of Sylla.— Pompby Entbbb tbb Abbna.— Battlbb 

ABD ASBASSUf ATIONS 140 



CHAPTER IX. 

8YLLA AKD CATILINI. 

u Fbom 82 b. a to 59 b. a 

Battu Undbb the Walls.— Triumph of Bylla.— Caius Juliub CiBSABv— Death 
or Marius. — Massaorb at PRiENBSTB. — MISSION or PoMPET.— Abdication or 
BvLLA. — Uis Death. — Policy of Lbpidus. — Triumph or thb Abibtocracy. — 
Gj»au a Ransomed Slave. — He Espouses the Popular Cause. — Cuaracteb 
or Pompby.— Spabtagub and his Band.— Hia Defeat and Dbatu.— The Slayb 
Tbadb.— Illustrative Anecdote.- Pompby Cbubhbs the Pirates.— Thb Gon- 
•riBAOY or Cat iLDfB t •••.. 118 



CHAPTER X. 
C-fiSAR AND POMPET 

From 59 c. c. to 50 h. a 

OATa— Bethbn of Pomi'By to Romr.^ -Clodius and the Mystic Bitbs. — Ditobob 
or PoMPEiA.— Anecdotes of Cabbar. — ^Thb Tbiumyibatb.— Policy of Cicero.— 
Popular Measures of CiESAR. — Division of tub 8»?oiw 9f Offiob,— Pboseojj- 
TioN of Cicero. — Ilis Banishment and REOALL.-i-pt.»jpcRXT09 ^'RiU3(y*i».— Dp^ ^ 
MBSTic Griefs. — Bloody Fbay.— Tumult in RoME^-^OscxATOftsSftp of^om^by.— 
Organization of a Roman Court.— Anrcdotb of P^ar^-t^is, Ambitjoub 
Designs. — Sickness of Pompby. — Political Contests *n Romf.—<>pen V?^ab,— 
BBTBBATor Pompby and Flight to Gbbbob. ...••> .r ,.«., « 169 



CHAPTER XI. 

t.b struggle and fall op pompbt 

From 50 b. c. to 48 b. o. 

•noB or Bbundubiuh.— Flight of Pompby.- Cj»ar's Mbasurbs in RoMb.— Hb 
Expedition to Spain.— Tub Wab and Final Conqubbt.— Cjssar Rbtubns to 
Bbundusium.— Crosses to Gbbbob in Pubbuit of Pompby.— Vicissitudes of thb 
War. — Pompby's Victory at Dyracuium. — Retreat of CfiSAR.— Battle or 
Phabsalia.->wUttbr Ruin of Pompby. — His Flight. — Joins Cornelia and Hfl» 
Boil.- Melancholy Voyage to Egypt. — His Assassination by Ptolbmt... ..... MT 



Xii OOHTBHTll. 

CHAPTER XII. 

THB TRIUMPH OF O^ESAB AND THE FATS OF POMPR; 

Fbom 43 b. a to 44 b. a 

PA 
GhLUBroT or Cjbab. — FmBxm of Poaipky. — Tub Eotptiak Wjjl — Csbab ijn» 
Clbopatba. — CAPTirBB or Puabos. — PoHUi^itiTY or Gjbbab. — ^Loes or the Axbz- 
▲NDRiAN Librabt.— Brief Conflict w»Tn tuk Kino or Pontus. — Quellinq thb 
Mutiny. — Cato'b ErroETS in Afeioa. — ^Thb ArRiOAN War.— Defeat and Death 
or Soipio.— Suicide of Cato.— The bPANisu War.— Death or Pompey's Son.— 
Ojebae's Eetubn to Bomb.— His Triumpil— His Adminibtbatitb Mbabubbb ana 
Bhebot. — Hu Chabaotbb. — Coabaotbr or Oioebo 1 



CHAPTER XIII. 

A08ASSIN ATION OF 0JS8AB. 

Feou 44 b. c. to 42 b. a 

teuTUB AND GABBitrs.— The Conspiracy.— The Scene or Assa^sixation.— CoNDirav 
or THE Conspirators. — Indionation of the People. — Fliqjit of the Cokspiba* 
TORS FKOii Rome. — Measures of Marc Antony. — Gaius Ogtavius. — Intbrvibw 
with CioKEO. — Collision with Antony.— Rallying of cue xVkistocrats. — Civu* 
War.— False Position of Octavius.— Philippics of Cicero. — Defeat ow 
Antony. — Escape beyond tuk Alps. — Octavius CiSSAR's March upon Bomi.^ - 
Tbiumph or THE Plebeian Cause.— The Nature of the Conflict. Mi 



CHAPTER XIV. 

OOTAVIUS CiESAB. 

From 42 b. o. to 82 b. o. 

Vatb of Drcimus Bbutub. — Massacres in Rome.-^Dbath of Cicbbo.— Anbodotm. 

—The Triumvirate. — War in Macedonia.— Ruin of tub Patrician Causb.^ 

Suicide ok Cassius and Biutus. — Triumph op thb Triumvirate. — Oppression 

•. pr^» *Be(^(^ \niJ Il^e^tBi^ IN Bomb.- Profligacy of Octavius CiSSAR.— 

/^V^swAbL fffr LKl^fJf^f. — ^DjijwijLA, — Divorce of Antony's Wife.— Antony and 

* CLE5PAtBA.-*-WAlP B^WiAH OC-f A VIUS AND ANTON Y. — MUSTERING OF THE FOBCKB. 

•^Aigt)ir» AN^ mi^BbwiAH^ Paramour i 



.an APT ER .X V. 

OiBSAB AUGUSTUS AND MABO ANTOST. 

From 82 b. o. to 10 b. o. 

Battlb or AoTiUM— Flight of Clbopatba. — Entibb Victobt of OoTAYiim.— Tbs 

PuBSUiT TO Alexandria. — Suicidr or Antony. — Guile of Cleopatra. — Hbb 
Endbayors to Win Octavius. — Despaib and Suicide of Cleopatra.- ^Tbi- 

VMPHANT BbTUBN OF OOTAVIUS TO BOMB.— HiS WiSE MEASURES ^ThB TitLE Or 

AUGUSTUS Oonfebbbd.— Statb of thb Boman Empirb, Italy, Gaul, Britain, 
tPAiK, Afbioa, Stbia, Asia Minor, Gbbece.— Tuk Dkkolations or Civil Wab. . d^l 



OOHTBVT8. XUl 

OHAPTEB XVI. 
TIBBBIUB OJE8AB, CALIGULA, AVD OLAUDIUB. 

Fboh 10 b. a to a. n. 51. 

DlBaQVAL DimiON or Wkaltil— 8lavkbt.— Tub Jbwb.— Tibbbiub Cobab.— Dbats 
OF Cjbab AiTGUB'nTB.— Ttbankt or TiBBRHTB.— His Bbtbbat to GArBA.— Dbath 
or Obbxanigub.— Edict against tub Pi-at-Aotobs.— TicBTiiiONY or Taoitub.— 
Tbbbiblb Accidbnt. — Caligula. — Dbatb or Tibbbius.— CBvoirixioir or ofb 
Bayioub.— Bbign or Calioula.— Uis Cbubltt amd Madnb8&— Asbabbinatiom 
or GALI017I.A. — AcoBSBioK or Claudiub.— Ambodotbb. — ^Dbath or Claudiub.— > 
4o8VBidv or Nkboi.— Bu Chabaotbb 1 



CHATTER XVII. 

N EKO 

Fboh a. d. 51 to a. d. 97. 

•tmint BBTWBBif Nbbo ahd his Motbbb.— Mubdbb or Bbitannioitb.— Attbhpt vo 
MuBDBB AoBippUTA.— IIbb Ebcapb.— £rrBOTUAL Plak roR HBR Mubobb—Bb- 
MABK or Tacitus.— Wab ih Bbitaim.— Hobbiblb Law or Slavbbt.— Its Exb- 
ouTioN. — Repudiation and Drath or Ootavia.— Thb Festival. — Nebo Sbts 
Fire to Kumb. — ^Thb Cubistiams Falsely Acousbo. — ^Thbib Pbbsboution. — Tbm 
Ibsubbbction or Oalba.— Tkrror or Nbbo.— Hb Commits Suioldb. — Galea 
OhOBBN EmPXBOB.— UIB AaSAfiSUfATXON 816 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
BMPEBOBB, GOOD AND BAD. 
Fbom a. d. 67 to a. d. 180. 
Omo AKD Yitbllus^— Tbb Oonpliot.— Thb Triumph or Vb8pa8iam.f— Trrua !>■- 

•TBOTB JeBUSALBM. — Hu ACCKS81UN TO TUB ThBONB. — SUCCESSION OP DOMmAK. — 

AiK>BNMEirr or thb Capitol.— Uis Dbpravitt and Dratii.— The Crown Con- 
rsBBED ON Nbbva. — ^Tbajan, Associate £.mpbror. — Kbiqn of Trajan — Ha 
CoLUMV. — Correspondence with Plint. — Conquests op Trajan. — Reign or 
Adrian.— Antoninus Pius. — Uis Noble Chabaotbb.— Marcus Aubbliub.— 
YxEUS, HIS Gollbaoub.— Death or Aubbliub < 



CHAPTER XIX. 
oommbnoembnt of the decline and fall. 

From a. d. 180 to a. d. 235. 

Maboub Aubbliub. — Pbactioal Philosophy.— Commodus. — His Death. — Com- 
khnobmbnt or the Dbolinb and Fall. — ^The Prbtorian Quard. — Its Cuara<^ 

TBB AND InFLUBNCB. — ThB ThRONB SoLD AT AUCTION.— JULIAN.—TlIE RlTAL 

Empb&'>bs.— Triumph op Sbverus. — His Perfidy. — Rrign of Caracalla and 
Gbta.— MuBDBB or Obta. — Assassination of Caracalla.— Macrinub. — Hb 
Bhobt Reign and Death. — Elaoabalus. — ^Both PoNTirr and Ehpebob.- Hib 
BiZTBAOBCiHABT Dbpbayitt.— Anbodotbb or Mazdiin i 



jiV OONTKNTS, 



CHAPTER XX. 

BAPID STBIDEB OF DBOIiINB 

FftOM ▲. D. 285 TO A. D. aSSL 

llAZiMnr.— HiB BsiGM and Death.— Bbyolt in Afrioa.— Thb Gokdiaha.— .Tm 
TWO Ehps&ors.— Balbinub and Maximum.— An akghy in Bomb.— Mukosb or tbm 
Empkbors.— Philip Mabinub and Dbciub. — Dbbignation of C^sab.— Hebbdi- 

TABT DbBOBNT. — TOB GOTHIO InTABION.— VaLBBIAN AND GaLLIBNUB. — ^TbBBIBUI 

Fatb of Valebian. — AooESBioN OF Claudkjb. — Immbnse Abmt of thb Gotbb. — 
ViOTOBiES or Claudiub.— Chabaotbb and Fate of Zbnobia.— Aubblian.— In- 
TBttBBeNuii.- Taoitub. — His Death. — Pbobub. — Cabdb.— Uis Maboh to Pbbali, 
andDbath 8M 

CHAPTER XXI. 

DIYISIONS OF THE EMPIBB. 

Fboh a d. 288 to a. d. 880. 

GABprUB AND NUMBBIAN.— AmODOTB OF DiOOLBTIAN.— HiS AOOBBfilON.— 8a«A0IOI^ 

Abbangbhbntb.— Tub Fodb Ehpbbobb.— Wabb or the B^bbabianb.— Thb Two 
New Gapitaus, Milan and Nicohbdia.— Dboadbnoe of I^omb.— Abdication or 
Diocletian. — His Betibehbnt and Death. — Gonbtantiub and Conbtantinb.— 
Tub Ovebtubuw of Maxentiub, Maximin, and Liciniub.— Gonbtantine Sole 
Eupbbor.— TBiuupa of Ghristianitt oybb Prrsecution.— Gonbtantinb adopib 
Chbistianity. — ^Byzantium Guanoed to Oonbtantinoplb. — ^Tub Gbowth akd 

BpLEN DOB OF THB GZTT. 881 

CHAPTER XXII 

THE EMPIBE DISMEMBEBED. 

Fbom a. d. 880 TO A. D. 875. 

OONBTANTINB THB GbEAT.— DiVERBITT OF VlKWB BbBPEOTINO HdI.— ThE TbAOBDT 

or Obibfvb and Faubta. — Death or Gonbtantinb.— Tbiplb Dttsbion or the Eh* 
PIBB.— Tbiuuph or Gonbtantiub over his Brothers.— Struggle with Magnen- 
TiuB. — Fatal Battle or Mursa.— Fate or Gallub. — Aggbsbion and Apobtaot 
or Julian.— His Soholablt Gharaotbr^— Dbyblopmbntb or Enbbgy.— Hib Wab 
IN Gaul. — Selection or Paris roR uis Gapital.— Hib Mblancholt Death. — 
Bbtreat or THB Abmt — Ghoiob or Valbntinian.— Yalbnb his AfwooiATBi— 
AooiTMiTLATiNe Wabs.— Death or Valbntinian 815 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
THE DYNASTY OF THE GOTHS. 

From a. d. 875 to a. d. 1085. 

Tbb March or the Huns.— Fligut of tub Goths to Italy.— Energy or \ALBVib 
— Inolorioub Bbign or Gratian. — ^The Reign of Throdosiub.— Gothic Inva- 
sions. — Alaric— Bomb Besieged.— The Gonquest or Bomb. — ^Gapture or Sicily. 
— ^AOAOiTY or Adolphub. — Briep Dominion of the Eastern Emfirb over thi 
Wbbt.— The Bavagbs of Attila.— Anabohy in Italy. — Nepob, Obestes, and 
OiMACBR. — Invasion of Theodoric. — Justinian at Gonstantinoplb.— Tub Ga- 

BBEB OF BeUSARIUS.— GhARLBMAGNE AND HiS EMPIRE.- TUB BeION OF ZBB 

Dusn.— fiuBjBOTioN TO thbGbbman Empbuob --• 410 



OOKIKKTS. XT 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
THB ITALIAN REPUBLIC »• 

FlOM A. D. 1085 TO A. D. IMC^ 

PAai 

I OF THB GznntOH.— HlLDKBKAND.'HumUATIOH OW THB EmPCBOB 

Hbnbt IV.— Domikion of the Gkrham Ejipieb otbe Italy.— Wab bbtwbkn 
THE Empkror ani> Lombardt.— Soutiip.rn Italy. — Oboanization of the Kino- 
Doii or Naplbs. — Thb Korman Kaiioration.— Thb Venetian BBPUBLia— It» 
Bub and Vicissitudes.— Italian Ciiabactee.— Thb CBiraADEB.— Gomfliot be- 

TWBBH HONORIUB ill. AND FkkDBRIO II.— ANAROHY IN BOBB.— CONQUBST OF THB 

KnoDOM OF Naplbbby Chablbs of Anjou.— Floebnob.— ItbConfuots 4n 



CHAPTER XXV. 
ITALIAN ANABOHT. 

From a. d. 1266 vo a. d. 1400. 

IWb Ovblpbs and Ghibkllines.— Tragic Fate of Bontfazio and Imalda.— Bz- 
tent of the Papal StXtes. — ^Tue Sicilian Vespers.— Conflict Between Obnoa 
AND Pisa. — liuiN of Pisa — State ok Florence. — Of Sicily. — The Papal Coubt 
Bemovrd to Avignon. — Tub Romance of Andrew and Joanna.— Conflict fob 

THE TURONB OK NaPLES. — GENERAL VlEW OK ItALY.— VENICE AND GeNOA.— THB 

Antagonistic Popes.— Their Wars.— Accession of Ladislaus to the Thbonb 
09 Naples. — Cbubl Fatb of Constance i 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

FBAGMENTABT ITALY 

Fboh a. d. 1400 to a. d. 1600. 

Dawh of the Fifteenth Century.— Schism in the Church.— The Thbbb PoPBa— 
Thb Gbeat Council of Constance.— "Good Old Times." — Beatrice Tenda.— 
Thb Dukes of Batoy.— The House of Medici — Europe Menaced by thb 
TuBKS. — ^TnK Great European Monarchies. — ^Fragmentary Italy. — Leo X. — 
Fbbnch Conqubbts. — Spanish Conquests. — ^Thb Empbbob Chablbs V. Mastbb 
of Italy.— Papal Stbuooles.— Fate of Flobbnob.- The Duohy of Pabma— 
or TuBOANY ill 



CHAPTER XXVII. 
ITALY AT THB COMMENCEMENT OF THE FBENOH BEVOLUTIOH. 

From a. d. 1600 to a. d. 1796. 

rn DrpHY OF Tuscany.— Venioe.—State of Italy in the Seventeenth Chh- 
VUBY. — The Duchies OF Parma and Modena.— Rise and Aggrandizement of 
THE Dukes of Savoy, — Struggles in Genoa.— War of the Spanish Succession. 
^Bbpose in Italy. — Peace of Aix la Cuapelle. — Naples under Spanish 
Ikflubncb. — The Papal Power. — Italy at the Commencement of the Revo- 
-MJYIOK. — Sabdinia, Tuscany, Modena, Gbnoa, Lombabdy, Venice. — Wab 
baaxhst Fbanob.— Napoleon in Italy. — His Vioto&ies and his Policy 4 



ZVi OOHTBlffT0« 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

BAPOLKON I 2Si ITALY. 

Fmmi ▲. D. 1796 TO ▲. D. 18M. 

rM 
Halt in 1796^— MRAsincnoT Napolbon Bow ai>ai;tb.— MnsAGs to tnPops.— Tin 
GiBALPiNE Bkpublto. — ^Tbodblxb ih Qknoa. — Stats op Southebh Italy. — ^Gap- 

TITITY OF P1IT8 VI. — PlBDMOlTT ANNVXKD TO PrANCK. — ^ATSOCmES OP LoRD NrL- 

SON. — Napolkok^e Bkturn prom Eotpt. — ^GAMPAioir OP MAKKMOa— Litter to 
rBi Emperor op Austria.— Lrtee to the King ^p England. — Imperial Franos. 
-— The Kingdom op Italy. — The Bourbons op Naples Dethroned. — Pora 
Pros VIL A Oaptits.— Napoleon's Designs por Italy I 



CHAPTER XXIX. 
ITALY UNDER NAPOLEON, AND UNDKE THE AUSTBIANS. 

From a. d. 1S09 to a. d. 184S. . 

Pkbnob Hbasurjes in Italy,— Condition of Sicily.— Op Sardinia. — Of Naplsb.*- 
JosEPfl Bonaparte. — Murat.— Tiik States of the Church. — ^The Kingdom o» 
Italy — Ecosne Beauuarnais.— Encyclopedia Americana upon Napoleon.— 
The Fall of Napoleon. — Its Effects upon Italy. — ^Tue Austrian Sway im 
Italy. — Execution op Murat. — Insurrections. — Energy op Austria. — Strug- 
gles of the Year 1820. — Revolution op 18S0. — Ruin of the Italian Patrioxs. 
—Accession op Louis Napoleon.— Revival op the Italian Struggle i 



CHAPTER X XX. 
AUSTRIAN TRIUMPHS AND D I 8 O M F I T U BB. 

From a. d. 1848 to a. d. 1860. 
oonplict between austria and sardinia.— austria triumphant. — conoertear 

TION OF THE PaTRIOTB IN ROMB.— RuiN OP THE POPULAR PaBTY IN PlEDMONT.— 

Heroism of Garibaldi. — Renewal op tub War between Sardinia and Aus- 
tria. — Intervention op Franoe.—Pboolamation6.— Battles op Montebelloi, 
Paligstbo, and Magenta. — Sardinia and Lombardy Bsgainbd.— Present Btasb 
or Italy. 863 



CHAPTER XXX L 
FRENCH INTERVENTION. 

From a. d. 1860 to a. d. 1870. 

Bibth and Eablt History of the Pope. — His Spirit op Reform. — Assassi- 
nation of Count Rossi.— Insurrection in Rome. — Flight op the Pope.— 
Intervention of Austria, Naples, and Spain. — Recklessness op the In- 
surgents. — French Iktervbktion. — The Modekatk Republicaks and the 
Kedb. — Views of the French Government. — The Capture op Rome. — Im- 

SURRECTIOH IK F ARTS. — DiSAPPOIMTMBNT OP THE FRENCH GOYEJINMENT f8 



OONTBNT8. XVii 

OHAPTEB XXXIL 
ITALIAN UNITY. 

PAtI 

Bfmncnro Yikwb op Kapolbon I. — Object op thb Cohobb88 op ViBinrA.— Tmi 

CABB0NABI.~LBT1»R TO THB POPB.— LOUIS NaPOLBON IV ItALT.-~Hi8 NaB- 
BOW ESCAPB. — LBTTBB PBOM Mb. MoRSE. — INSURRECTIONS QDBLLED. — MA' 
OBXTA AND SOLPBRINO.— PSACB OP YlLLAPRANCA. — VBNETIA NOT IIBBRATBD; 

AND WHT.— Views op M. Thiers. — Fidelity op Louis Napolbon to thb 
Italians. —Address TO thb Corps Lboislatip.— Thb Papal States.— Dip- 

PIODLTT OP thb QUBSTIOir. — SPBBOH OP PBINOB KAPOLBOV. — VlBWS OP THB 
EMPBBOB. — IXPORTANT LBTTBR PBOM THB ElCPBROB M 



CHAPTER XXXIIL 

THB BBIZUBB OF ROMB. 

KiOB AND Sayot. — The Deputation and thb Ehpbror. — Thb States op thb 
Church.— Thb Exbarrassino Question.- Parties in Italt. — Results op 
Sedan. — Agitation in Italy. — Diplomatic Mbasurbs. — Message to the 
Pope. — The Reply. — Proclamation op Victor Emandbl. — Thb Mjutaey 
MoTEMENT. — The Captubb op RoMB.— The Lboninb City. — Bbmonstrabob 
OP THE Cathoucs 613 



APPENDIX. 

LATER HISTORY. 

Thb Author's Dxath.— New Cuapteb by another Hahd.— Efforts to 
conciliate the Papacy. — Pkrplexino Questions. — Loyalty op the 
King to Free Institutions. — Papal Guarantys. — The Religious 
Corporations. — Religion and the Public Schools. — Death op Vic- 
tor Emanuel, and Accession of Humbert IV. — Death of Pius IX., 
AND Accession of Leo XHI.— Attitude of the New Pope. — The Suf- 
frage Question.— First National Bxposition.— Obkat Religious 

CBANeBB. — DBATH OF OaBIBAU)! ( 



LIST OF ILLUSTRA TIONS 



ITALY 



Frontispiece — Destruction of Pompeii 
The Bridge and Castle of St. Angelo 
General Giuseppe Garibaldi 
Victor Emanuel . . . . • 



PREPAOB. 

Thb studies of the author of this work, for the last ten 
years, in writing the '^ History of Napoleon Bonaparte," and 
" The French Revolution of 1789," have necessarily made 
him quite fiuniliar with the monarchies of Europe. He has 
met with so much that was strange and romantic in their 
career, that he has been interested to undertake, as it were, a 
biography of the Monarchies of Continental Europe — their 
birth, education, exploits, progress and present condition. He 
has commenced with Austria. 

There are abundant materials for this work. The Life of 
Austria embraces all thut is wild and wonderful in history ; 
her early struggles for aggrandizement — the fierce strife with 
the Turks, as wave after wave of Moslem invasion rolled up 
the Danube — ^the long conflicts and bloody persecutions of the 
Reformation — the thirty years' religious war — the meteoric 
caieer of Gustavus Adolphus and Charles XII. shooting 
athwart the lurid storms of battle — ^the intrigues of Popes — 
the enormous pride, power and encroachments of Louis XIV . 
— ^the warfare of the Spanish succession and the Polish dis- 
memberment — ^all these events combine in a sublime tragedy 
which fiction may in vain attempt to parallel 



6 PBEFAOB. 

Hie one great trnth taught in all these annals is, diat there is n« 
hope for the world but in the religion of the Bible. A change in the 
form of government is of but little avail, so long as the people remain 
ignorant and corrupt. Probably, in all governments, the rulers pretty 
fairly represent the average intelligence and integrity of the people. 
A true republic cannot exist where the people are degraded. It is 
of but little avail to batter down an old despotism, unless there is 
sufficient enlightenment to rear upon its ruins a better edifice. 

The question, whether united Italy shall be prosperous and happy, 
is one to be decided in the hearts of the Italian people. Italy has 
deposed its old tyrannic rulers, and has introduced principles of civil 
and religious liberty hitherto unknown in that fair but ill-fated land ; 
but if there be not found among the masses of the people that intel- 
ligence and moral worth which are essential to free institutions, then 
the light we now behold gleaming over the Alps and the Apennines 
will prove but the flash of the midnight storm, not the dawn of open- 
ing day. 

The men who are now doing the most for the welfare of the world 
are Uiose who are striving, by all the varied instrumentalities of lifb, 
to make men better ; to awaken in the human heart the consciousness 
that God Is our common Father, and that all we are brethren. He 
only is the true philanthropist who offers the unceasing prayer, with 
corresponding exertions, '^ Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, as 
in heaven, so in earth." 

JOU^ a C. ABBOTT. 

Faib Ha^km, Cumi., IWuniaiy, 1801, 



CHAPTER !• 

LBOENDARY B01IB« 
Fbox 700 B. 0. TO 493 & a 

TBI ICAUAV F —UM B L A^— CTll<—!tAlH HSTOST.— LBOnTD OP TBOT.— TBB FLMBV OV 

ibrsA& — ^LA-HDura or Italy.— Wabs with Natits Tkibsb.— Alba LoNe4^— Tm 
Stobt or RoHULim Airo Bnnm.— Thb Fovhoatioh of Bomb.— Thb Bapb or tbb 

8aB1KBB.-»OO II T U I V BI> CoMQUUTB.'-TKANftLATION Or ROMULUB.— TOK IIORATII AND 
OlTBIATII.— CONQITBST OT AlBA LONOA.— AoOBHIOir Or TABQVINinB.— SkBTHTB TuL- 
UIJB.-~Hk DBfOOBATU) BWAT.— AOOBBUOM OF TaBQUIHIUB SuPBBBUS.— TuB BoOKS 

or THB Bibtl. — ^Thb 8T<»Kr or Lvobbtia.— BAMnaHBirr or TARQuur. — Rbigh or 
thb GomviB.— iMiuBBBonoH or nn Goaom. 

rpHE Italian peninsula extends fi*om the foot of the Alps mto 
-^ the Mediterranean sea, about seven hundred and fiily 
miles. Its breadth is very unequal. In the extreme north, 
where it is bounded by the circular sweep of the Alps, which 
separate the plains of Lombardy from Switzerland and the 
Tyrol, the country presents a breadth of one hundred and fifty 
miles. In the center it is but about eighty miles from the bay 
of Naples to the Adnatic, while in Calabria the width dwindles 
to but eighteen miles from sea to sea. The islands of Sicily, 
Sardinia, and Corsica, with several others of minor importance, 
have also been usually considered as a part of Italy. The area 
of the mam land, exclusive of these islands, is estimated at a 
little over one hundred thousand square miles, being about 
equal to all of New England and the State of New York. 
Italy now contains twenty-five millions of inhabitants, and is 
divided into several States, consisting of the two kmgdoms 
of Sardinia and Naples; Venetian Lombardy — the Papal 
States — the liliputian republic of San Marino, and the four 
duchies of Tuscany, Parma, Modena, and Lucca. A range of 



18 ITALT 

mountains, the Apennines, traverses the peninsula from north 
to south, creating rivers, plains, and valleys, which, by the 
common consent of mankind, have been pronounced to be 
more beautiful than can be found elsewhere on the surface of 
the globe. The soil is fertile, the climate remarkably genial, 
and poetic inspiration has been exhausted in extolling the 
purity of its breezes and the splendor of its skies. 

The first glimpse we catch of Italy, through the haze of 
past ages, is exceedingly dim and shadowy. Uncounted tribes 
spread over the mountains and valleys, either tilling the fields 
or herding their cattle, or pursuing wild beasts in the chase. 
Even the tradition, recorded by the Roman historians, of the 
origin of the Roman empire, from a colony of fugitives escap- 
ing from the sack of Troy, is deemed utterly devoid of foun- 
dation in historic truth. These traditions, in which history 
and poetry are inseparably commingled, are so confused and 
contradictory that they are utterly rejected by sound criticism. 
It is the verdict of the most accomplished scholars that the 
date and origin of the eternal city are involved in impenetrable 
obscurity. Most modem writers on Roman history, adopting 
the statements of Varro and Cato, place the foundation of 
Rome somewhere between the years 752 and 729 before 
Christ. 

The most ancient historians give a narrative of the rise and 
progress of the city of Rome, which rapidly spread its con- 
quests over all the Italian tribes and all of the then known 
world, in which narrative truth and fiction are so intermixed 
that they can not now be separated. As nothing whatever is 
known of these early ages but what is contained in these le 
gends, and as they have ever been deemed beautiful creations 
which, hke romances founded in fact, contain much historic 
truth, blended with fiction, and are illustrative of the habits 
of thought and customs of the times, this legendary history be- 
comes the appropriate and essential introduction to a narrative 
of the fortunes of the Italian peninsula. 



LKOBKDARY BOMB. 19 

It is recorded that upon a plateaa of Asia ICxior, near the 
^igean sea, there existed, about a thousand years before the 
birth of our Saviour, a large city called Troy. It was besieged, 
taken, and utterly destroyed by the Greeks. Some of the fugi* 
tives, led by a renowned chieftain, ^neas, escaped, and taking 
a ship, after encountering innumerable perils, succeeded in 
reaching the shores of Italy. They landed near the center of 
the western coast, upon territory occupied by a tribe called 
Latins, whose king or chief was Latinus. The ftigitives were 
kindly greeted by the natives, and received a grant of land, 
upon which they were permitted to establish themselves as a 
colony. Soon, however, a quarrel arose, and the Trojans, at- 
tacking the Latins, defeated them, killed their king, and 
.^kieas, marrying the daughter of Latinus, became sovereign 
of the conquered tribe, and assumed for all his people the name 
of Latins. 

Two neighboring tribes, the Rutulians and EtruscanS) were 
alarmed by the encroachments of the new comers, and entered 
into an alliance for their destruction. In the war which en- 
sued, Tumus, king of the Rutulians, was slain, and JSneas also 
perished. Ascanius, the son of ^neas, now assumed the com- 
mand, and carried on the war vigorously against the Etrus- 
cans. Ascanius was a soft-haired, beardless boy, but heroic in 
spirit. He succeeded in one of the battles in encountering 
Mezentius, the Etruscan king, in single combat, and slew him. 
This conquest greatly increased the territory and the power 
of the young colony, and Ascanius selected another site for his 
city on the side of a mounUun, where there was an extensive 
prospect and many facilities for defense. Thirty years had 
now passed since the first landing of the Trojans in Italy. The 
first city, caUed Lavinium, was built on the low lands near the 
shore. This second city, which Ascanius named Alba Longa, 
was built on the side of Monte Cavo, from whose sunmiit the 
eye commands a prospect of wonderftd extent and beauty, 
often embracing in the field of vision, when the atmosphere ii 



30 ITALY 

dear, the distant islands of Sai'dima and Corsica. Niebuhi 
atates that the site where Alba stretched its long street be- 
tween the mountain and the lake is still distinctly marked. 
At this point there is confusion in the l^ends which it is idle 
to attempt to reconcile. A list of the succeeding Alban kings 
id given, which contains a medley of names without the slighv^ 
est claims to authenticity. 

Some three hundred years are supposed to have passed 
sway aiter the founding of Alba Louga, when, during the 
reign of Amnlius, two children, offspring of Sylvia, a mece of 
the king, were ordered by the king, who feared their rivalry, 
to be cast into the river Tiber. The god Mars was reported 
to be the father of these children. There was a great inunda- 
tion at the time, and the infants, placed in a wicker basket, 
floated down the stream, until the basket struck a fig-tree and 
upset, and the children were thrown upon a mound of dry 
land, near the foot of a hill, subsequently called the Palatine 
hilL A she -wolf found the children and took them to her 
cave and suckled them. At length a herdsman, who lived upon 
the hill, chanced to discover the in£»nts, and took them to his 
wife. She nursed them tenderly, and named them Romulus 
and Remus. The children growing to manhood, aocndentally 
discovered thdr regal descent, and, raising a party of young 
men from the banks of the Tiber, waged war against Alba» 
slew the king, Amulius, and placed his elder brother, Numitor, 
the father of their mother Sylvia, upon the throne. 

Though the two brothers, Romulus and Remus, were now 
received at court and recognized as of royal blood.^ still they 
were so strongly attached to their childhood's nome, upon the 
banks of the Tiber, that they retired from Alba to the Palatine 
hill, and decided to build a city in that vicinity. A dispute 
arose respecting its precise location. In a fit of anger one of 
tlie chief builders struck Remus with a spade and killed him. 
Romulus now urged forward his buildings, surrounded the 
city, which he called Rome, with a wall, and invited all ad- 



I.XOAKDART ROMS. f] 

?«ntnrcr8, exiles, fii^tives, and even criminals and runaway 
slaves, to repair to the city and place themselves mider his 
protection. The population rapidly increased, and the streets 
of Rome were soon crowded with men of the most bold and 
desperate character. But wives were wanted, and by fair 
means they could not be obtsuned. 

Romulus proclaimed to the neighboring tribes that there 
was to be a great festival celebrated at Rome with the most 
imposing sports and games, which they were invited to attend. 
Large numbers from the densely populated region around, with 
their wives and children, flocked to the city. When all were 
intently gazing upon the spectacle, a band of armed men rushed 
upon the strangers, and, seizing the young women, bore thera, 
shrieking with terror, to appointed places of rendezvous. The 
exasperated tribes immediately seized their arms to avenge 
this outrage ; but not acting with sufficient concert, several of 
them were vanquished, one after another, and their territories 
seized by the energetic Romans. At length the king of the 
Sabines, who was the most powerful of these adjacent tribes, 
led an army so well appointed and numerous agamst Rome, 
that Romulus, unable to resist him in the field, was compelled 
to take refuge behind the walls of the city. Opposite the 
Palatine hill, upon which Rome was built, there was, at some 
distance, another eminence, then designated the Satumian hill, 
but since called the Capitoline. Here the Sabines entrenched 
themselves. For some time the conflict continued with vary- 
ing success. At length the Sabine women, who had become 
attached to the husbands who had wooed and won them so 
rudely, anxious to effect a reconciliation between their hus 
bands and their fathei:s, rushed between the combatants and 
effected a peace. The two nations were now united under the 
name of the Romans and the Quirites. The women were 
richly rewarded for their heroism ; and, in requital to the sex, 
Uiws were passed requiring every man to make way for any 
lu&tTOn wh^ might meet him, and punishing with death any 



92 ITALY. 

man who should insult a woman by a wanton word or look 
Tatius, the king of the Sabmes, erected a city on the Capitol 
ine hill, and the united senate of the two kingdoms met in the 
valley between these eminences, and the spot was hence called 
Comitium. At length Tatius, in a conflict with a neighboring 
tribe, was killed, and Romulus ruled over both nations. 

It is represented that Romulus, after a mild and just 
reign of forty years, assembled the people, on a certain occa- 
sion, for a festival, on a plain near lake Capra. Suddenly a 
fearful storm arose, producing midnight darkness. Rain fell 
m torrents, and the thunder and lightning were more terrible 
than had ever before been known. In the con^ion of the 
tempest the people dispersed. After the storm had passed 
they returned t-o the field, but Romulus was no where to be 
found. They sought for him anxiously in all directions, and 
they could only solve the mystery by supposing that the god 
Mars, the reputed father of Romulus, had descended in this 
tempest, and conveyed his son to heaven in a chariot of fire. 
This supposition was soon confirmed, for Romulus appeared 
that night, in god-like stature and beauty, to one Proculus 
Julius, who was coming from Alba to Rome, and said to him, 

" Go and tell my people that they weep not for me any 
more. Bid them to be brave and warlike, and so shall they 
make my city the greatest in the eai'th." 

Such are the outlines of the traditional history of Rome. 
For centuries this narrative was held sacred, being commem 
orated in poetry and repeated by successive historians. It is 
now impossible to determine whether Romulus and Remus are 
historical personages or not. And still these traditions revea^ 
to us all that was imagined respecting the early history of 
Rome, when Livy wrote his renowned annals near the time of 
the birth of our Saviour. 

¥oT a year after the translation of Romulus the senators 
declined choosmg a king, but divided themselves into commit- 
tees of tens, each ten to exercise the supreme power for five 



LSaSlTDART ROMB. 

days. The people murmared so loudly at this that it 
found to be necessary to choose a king. As the Romans and 
the Sabines each ^^ished to furnish the sovereign, a compro- 
mise was made, by which it was agreed that the king should 
be a Sabine, but that the Romans should choose him. Numa 
Pompilius was elected, a man distinguished for justice, wisdom 
and piety. The reign of Numa Pompilius is represented as a 
continued triumph. For forty years he administered the gov- 
ernment with probity and wisdom almost superhuman. The 
most scrupulous attention was devoted to the worship of the 
gods. A nymph Egeria, in her sacred grove, counseled the 
favored monarch respecting all his measures, and thus Rome 
rapidly increased in extent and riches ; and peace and pros- 
perity reigned undisturbed. At the age of four score Numa 
peacefully died, and was buried upon the banks of the Tiber. 

After the death of Numa the senate again, for a time, exer- 
cised the supreme power, until they chose Tullus Hostilius for 
their king. A war soon broke out between the Romans and 
the Albans, and the latter marched to attack Rome, and en- 
camped within five miles of the city. The leaders of the two 
armies, to save the effusion of blood, agreed to submit the 
question to the result of a conflict between three, to be select- 
ed on each side. The Romans chose three twin brothers, the 
Horatii. The Albans also chose three twin brothers, the Cu- 
riatu. iioth armies were drawn up to witness the combat. 
Soon two of the Horatii were slain, and all three of the Cu- 
natii were severely wounded. The last of the Horatii, who 
was unhurt, feigned terror and flight. With tottering steps 
the wounded Curiatii pursued him. As soon as they became 
■eparated in the chase, Horatius turned, and slew each one 
successively. 

Tne Romans returned to their city in triumph, bearing at 
their head Horatius decorated with the armor of his three 
vanquished foes. As they approached the city the sister of 
Horatius came out to meet them. She had been betrothed to 



24 ITALY. 

one of the Gn .'iatii, and a cloak, whidi she had embroidered 
for her lover with her own hands, was borne apon the shoul- 
ders of the victor. The maiden, overwhelmed with grief, 
burst into tears. The stem brother, intoxicated with triumph, 
plunged his sword to the hilt in his sister^s heart, exclaiming, 

^^So perish the Roman maiden who shall weep for the 
enemy of her country." 

For the crime he was condemned to die. From the dedh 
flion of the court he appealed to the people. The people, in 
oonsideration of the victory he had gained for them, voted a 
pardon. But as innocent blood had been shed, which, by the 
Roman law, required atonement, they appropriated a certain 
sum of money to defray the expense of sacrifices which were 
forever after to be offered to the gods by members of the 
house of the HoratiL 

The Albans were now in subjection to the Romans; but as 
they did not honestly fulfill their pledge, Tullus, by guile, seifr 
ed their king, tore him to pieces between two chariots, des- 
troyed the city of Alba, and removed all the Albans to Rom& 
The hill Gaelius was assigned as their dwelling place. But 
Tullus, by his neglect of reli^on, offended the gods. A 
plague was sent upon the people, and Tullus himself was se- 
verely stricken. Still he did not repent, and Jupiter sent a 
bolt of lightning upon the house of Tullus, and he was con- 
sumed in the conflagration of his dwelling. This judgment 
taught the Romans that they must choose a king of religious 
character if they would hope for prosperity. They chose, 
therefore, a grandson of Numa, a young man by the name of 
Ancus Marcius, who had established a reputation of unque(»* 
tioned piety. For twenty-three years Ancus reigned in pros- 
perity, and the Rotoan people, incited by his example, scrupu- 
lously observed the ceremonies of divine worship. Such are 
the legends, combining fact and fiction which have taken the 
place of the lost history of Rome. 

But we do not yet eater upon the period of authentic hifr 



LSGEITDABT BOMS, 26 

toiy. We must continue, groping along guided only by the 
bewildering light of tradition. During the reign of Ancus 
Mardus, a wealthy Etruscan came to Rome, to take up his 
residence in the attractive city. He received the name of Lu« 
<auB Tarqninius. As he drew near the city in his chariot, with 
his wife Tanaquil sitting by his side, an eagle plucked his cap 
from his head and soared away with it into the clouds, then, 
returning from his flight, he re|daoed the cap upon the head 
of the traveler. This was deemed a good omen. Tarqninius, 
a sagacious, energetic man, encouraged by this indication of 
the &vor of the gods, consecrated his great wealth to public 
utility, and so won the affections of the people that, upon 
the death of Ancus he was, with great unanimity elected king. 
He proved equally skilled in the arts of war and of peace, en- 
larging, by his conquests, the Roman territory, and greatly 
promoting the internal improvements of his realms. His reign 
was long, and almost miraculously prosperous. There was in 
his household a very handsome young man of remarkably at- 
tractive character. His bearing was such that many deemed 
him the son of a god. This young man, whose name was 
Servius Tnllius, so won the heart of the king, that he prom- 
ised him his daughter in marriage. The sons of Ancus, 
alarmed lest this &vorite should gain the crown, hired two 
shepherds to asaassinate Tarquin, intending thus to prevent 
him from conferring the crown upon Tullius. Effectually they 
accomplished their work, splitting open his brain with a hatch- 
et. i5ut, notwithstanding this assassination, through the 
instrumentality of the king's wife, the young favorite, Servius 
Tnllius, obtained the throne, and the two sons of Ancus were 
eompelled to flee to a foreign land. 

Servius Tullius proved a humane and able monarch, cons^ 
erating his energies to the promotion of the welfere of the 
people. The arrogance of the patricians he repelled, and add- 
ed greatly to the embellishments of Rome, and to the general 
proiperity of the dtizens. The masses of the people, • 

2 



J6 ITALY. 

qiKotlj* rallied aromid him. The nobles, or patrioians as they 
were then called, were bitterly hostile to his democratic sway. 
He established laws based on equal rights, and, to protect the 
people from despotism, decreed that after his death there 
ihould no longer be a king, but that the supreme executive 
ihould thereafter be placed in the hands of two men to be an- 
nually chosen by the people. 

SenduB had two daughters, but no son. One of these 
daiighters, Tullia, was a very famous woman, and she married 
Lucius, one of the sons of king Tarquinius. Tullia and Lucius 
plotted with the nobles who were eager for the overthrow of 
the king, and taking advantage of the season of harvest, when 
most of the conm:ion people were in the fields, they caused the 
assassination of Servius Tullius. Lucius Tarquinius, support- 
ed by the nobles, with blood-stained hands, ascended the 
throne, as is generally supposed, five hundred and thirty-five 
years before the birth of Christ. 

The administration of the tyrant Tarquinius was as ezecnip 
ble as were the means by which he attained his power. A 
guard of armed men ever surrounded him, while he merci- 
lessly plundered the people, banishing and beheading those 
who excited his displeasure. To secure renown in subsequent 
ages, he built a magnificent temple upon the Capitoline hill, 
consecrated to Jupiter. 

During his reign a strange, weird woman is reported to 
have appeared before him offering to sell, at a stipulated price, 
nine books of prophecies, written by the Sibyl of Cumao. 
The king declined the purchase, and the woman threw three 
of the books into the fire, and then demanded the same price 
foi the six which she had asked for the nine. This offer 
being contemptuously rejected, she threw three more into the 
fire, and then demanded the whole price for the remaining 
three. The king, apprehensive that the sacred books might 
thus be entirely destroyed, purchased those which were left, 
when the woman disappeared and was seen no more. The 



LBGBITDAKT BOMS. t9 

books were placed in a stone chest and deposited in a Tanlt 
Wider the capitol, where a guard of two men was stationed 
over them by day and by night. 

Under the reign of Tarqoinias Superbus, as he is usual!} 
called, the laws which Servius had enacted for the protection 
of the conmion people, were abrogated. The nobles were 
reinstated in their exclusive privileges, and the plebeians toiled 
in penury, hunger, and degradation. Like beasts of burden, 
they were driven to construct the great works of Rome, 
rearing temples, digging canals, and forming roads. StiU 
feble is so blended with history in the narrative of his reign, 
that it is found impossible to detach truth from fiction. It is 
certain, however, that under the sway of this tyrant, Rome 
made great progress in military power and in the extent of 
her dominions. As Tarquinius was waging war agwnst the 
Rutulians, and besieging the city of Ardea, which was but 
sixteen mQes from Rome, one night his eldest son, Sextus 
Tarquinius, and Colatinus, a Roman noble, with several other 
young men of the army, were sitting in their tent, inflamed 
with wine, in midnight carousals, when a dispute arose re- 
specting the comparative beauty and virtue of their wives. 
To settle the question they agreed immediately to make a 
visit in company to each of their homes. Mounting their 
horses, they rode instantly to Rome, though the night was 
&r advanced, and sought the ladies in question. Some of 
them were at brilliant parties, some indulging in private 
domestic luirary, but the wife of Colatinus, whose name was 
Lucretia, was surrounded by her maids, working at the loom* 
Lucretia, by unanimous consent, was declared to be the 
worthiest and most beautifrd lady. 

Hie rare loveliness of Lucretia and her modest deportment 
inflamed Sextus Tarquinius with a guilty passion. A few 
days after he called at her house again. She received him 
hospitably a? the son of the king and the friend of hei 
husband, and provided him with lodgings for the night. Al 



B8 ITALY 

midnight he arose, and stealthily proceeding to her ch&mber 
awoke her, and with a sword presented at her breast, threat- 
ened her with iastant death if she should resist him. Prefer* 
ring death to dishonor, the virtuous Lucretia remained inex« 
orable to his demands. He then declared that if she did not 
yield he would first kill her, then kill one of his slaves and 
lay him in the bed by her side, and report that he had discov- 
ered him there and slain them both. By this threat, which 
would consign her name to eternal infamy, Lucretia was van- 
quished. The next morning Sextus Tarquinius returned to 
the camp, exulting in his brutal victory. 

Lucretia, overwhelmed with anguish, sent for her husband 
and her father, and informed them of the outrage. 

*' I am not guilty," said the noble woman, " yet must I 
flhare in the punishment of this deed, lest any should think 
that they may be false to their husbands and Hve." 

Then drawing a poniard from beneath her robe she 
plunged it into her heart. A young man, Lucius Junius 
Brutus, was present, who had accompanied Colatinus. His 
&ther had been put to death by the tyrant Tarquinius. This 
young Brutus, who was very rich, had for some time feigned 
insanity, lest he should also share his father's fate. Brutus 
drew the poniard from the wound, and, brandishing it in the 
ttr, exclaimed : 

^^ Be witness, ye gods, that from this moment I proclaim 
myself the avenger of the chaste Lucretia's cause. By this 
blood I swear that I will visit this deed upon king Tarquinius 
and all his accursed race ; neither shall any man hereafter b« 
king in Rome, lest he do the like wickedness." 

Each one present, in his turn, took the bloody dagger and 
n^peated the oath. They then carried the body of Lucretia to 
the forum, and an immense and enraged concourse collected 
around it. The whole city was in a tumult. Tarquinius, who 
was with his troops at the camp before Ardea, set out with 
an aarmed band to qoeU the insiirreetioa. Bat the popnlaoe 



]:.SOBKDABT ROMS. M 

dosed A^ gfttes against him, and the senate issned a deorea 
banishing him and his fiunily forever from the oity. Th« 
unanimity m the banishment of the Tarquins was so entire, 
that it was in vain for the long to attempt any resistanoe. 
Ho apparently snl»nitted to his fate, bnt only sought to gain 
ume that he might recover his lost power. 

The people now resolved to reestablish the laws of the 
good king Servius, and abolishing the monarchy, to choose 
annually twir men who should be intrusted with the supreme 
power. The choice feU first upon Brutus and Colatinus, the 
husband of Lacretia. Soon the exiled Tarquinius succeeded 
in forming a oi>nfipiraoy, and, by bribes, secured the codpera- 
tion of the two sons of Brutus. The two guilty young men, 
Titus and Tibei'ius, were arrested and brought before the 
tribunal of their father. With Roman sternness of justice, 
though his heart was Heediug, he, in accordance with the 
laws, doomed them both to be scourged and then to be 
bdieaded. The sentence was executed before the eyes of 
Brutus, who, apparently unmoved, witnessed their punish- 
ment. 

The ancient Roman monarchy, after a continuance of two 
hundred and forty-five years, terminated with Tarquinius 
Superbus. A republican government, or, as it was called, the 
Roman commonwealth, commenced under Brutus and Cola- 
tinus. These two magistrates were called consuls. The 
commonwealth is supposed to have commenced five hundred 
and forty-five years before Christ. 

Tarquinius, frustrated in his conspiracy, now resorted to a 
ooaliti<»i. He engaged a neighboring tribe, the Veians, to 
assist him, and with a ccmsiderable army advanced toward 
Rome. Brutus, at the head of the Roman cavalry, went out 
to meA him. Aruns, a son of Tarquinius, led his father's 
cavalry. Seeing Brutus advancing, he spurred his horse in 
front of his ranks, defying the consul to single combat. They 
met and both fell dead together. A bloody battle ensued, in 



80 ITALY. 

^hich eleven thousand perished upon each side, but the 
Romans remained in possession of the field. 

Tarquinius, defeated but not dismayed, engaged mothei 
tribe, the Etrurians, to espouse his cause, and shorty after 
marched again upon Rome with a still more numerous army, 
led by Porsenna, king of this Etrurian tribe. Publius, by the 
death of his colleague, being left in supreme command, and 
deeming the state in imminent danger, commenced building a 
citadel upon the hill Velia,* which looks down upon the 
forum. The people, jealous of their liberties, were alarmed, 
and began to murmur, saying : 

" Publius wishes to become a king. He is erecting this 
dtadel that he may dweU there with his guards and bring us 
into subjection." 

Publius complained bitterly of the injustice thus done him. 
To remove all suspicion, he caused a law to be enacted declar- 
ing that whosoever should attempt to make himself king 
should become thus outlawed, and any one might lawftilly 
slay him. This satisfied the populace, and they gave him in 
consequence the title of Poplicola, or the peoples^ friend. An 
assembly of the people was soon convened, and Spurius 
Lucretius, the father of the sainted Lucretia, was chosen 
consul in the place of Brutus. But the venerable old man 
was, at the time of his election, in the decline of life, and in 9 
few days he died. Marcus Horatius was then chosen in his 
room. It is recorded as a worthy act of the consul Marcus^ 
that as he was dedicating to Jupiter the temple which had 
oeen erected on the Capitoline hill, he was suddenly informed 
that his son was dead. But so intently was the father en- 
grossed with the religious solenmities, that he simply replied, 
"Then let them carry him out and bury him," thus honoring 
the gods above his son. 

The banished king Tarquinius, soon marched with a vast 

• The visitor to Rome will find the Yelian hill near the Palatine. The 
Tift Sacra paeses over it and the Arch of Titus stands upon its summit. 



LBOENDABTBOMS. 81 

Etniscaii anny against Rome, and drove the Romans, who 
had advanced beyond the Tiber to meet him, back into the 
city. The Romans destroyed the wooden bridge by which 
they effected their retreat, and thus cut off* the pursuit of the 
Etruscans. The Etruscans commenced a vigorous siege of the 
city. A young Roman, Gains Mucins, resolved to free his 
country from the impending peril by the assassination of the 
invading Etruscan king Porsenna. In disguise he penetrated 
the hostile camp and plunged a dagger into the heart of an 
Etruscan officer, whom he mistook for the king. He was 
arrested and threatened with the most excruciating torture 
unless he would answer every question. The young man 
thrust his arm in^ a fire which was burning upon an altar, and 
held it immovable until it was consumed by the fierce flame. 

" See now," s^ he, " how little I care for your torments." 

The king, amassed at such fortitude, looked upon the young 
man admiringly, and said : 

" Go thy way, for thou hast injured thyself more than me. 
Thou art a brave man, and I send thee back to Rome, unpun- 
ished and free." 

Gains replied, "For this thou shalt get more of my secret 
than all thy tortures could have extorted from me. Three 
hundred noble youths of Rome have bound themselves by 
oath to take thy life. Mine was the first attempt. The 
others will, each in his turn, lie in wait for thee. I warn thee, 
therefore, to look to thyself well." 

Poi-senna was alarmed, and proposed peace on terms which, 
though hmniliating, were eagerly embraced by the Romans. 
Ten noble young men and ten noble maidens were surrendered 
to the Etruscans as a pledge that the peace should be faith 
frilly kept. One of these maidens was named Gloelia. She 
encouraged her companions to escape from the Etrus^v^an 
camp, and being pursued, as they reached the Tiber, they 
plunged into the stream and swam to the opposite shore. Bui 
the Romans proud of unblemished faith, sent them all back 



n IT A It T. 

Porsenna, marveling more than ever at the courage of ibt 
Roman maidens, and the honor of the Roman Senate, gave 
Clcelia her liherty, and not only sent her home free, hut allow- 
ed hw also to choose a certain number of the young men to 
accompany her. She selected those of the most tender age, 
and, thus escorted, returned to Rome. Caius was rewarded, 
by the Roman Senate, with an extensive grant of land ; and a 
statue was erected to Cloelia on a conspicuous point of the 
sacred way. 

Tarquinius, seeing there was no hope of aid from Porsenna, 
turned to the Latins, south of Rome, and soon succeeded in 
engaging thirty cities to espouse his cause. The Sabines, oo- 
cupying the banks of the Upper Tiber, also united with the 
Latins, and Rome was again seriously imperiled. The crisis 
demanded energetic action, and the nobles, taking advantage 
of it, appointed one of the consuls, Titus Larcius, Master of 
the People^ and invested him with dictatorial power. They 
hoped, by means of this dictatorship, to regain their lost pr^ 
rogatives. The hostile Latin force was encamped on the banks 
Lake RegiQus, but a few miles south from Rome. Tarquinius 
and his son relied upon this army as their last hope. The Ro- 
mans and Latins had been, for many years, at peace, and inter- 
marriages had been frequent between them. Befbre hostilities 
commenced it was mutually agreed, between the contending 
parties, that the Latin women, with their virgin daughters, 
might leave their Roman homes and return to their country- 
men, and that the Roman women, who had married Latins, 
might leave their Latin relatives and return to Rome if they 
wished. But all the Latin women, exceptiog two, remained 
m Rome ; and all the Roman women, without exception, took 
their daughters and returned to the homes of their fathers. 

A great battle was now fought on the banks of Lake Re> 
gillus. Livy gives this battle the date of 499 years before 
Christ. In reference to this battle Niebuhr says : 

^It was a confliet between heroes, like those in the Biad. 



LBOBITBABT BOMB. W 

AB the heroes meet hand to hand, and by them the victory ig 
thrown now into one scale and now into another, while thu 
troops fight without any effect.'^ 

Two divine heroes, Castor and Pollux, in the most momen- 
tons juncture of the bloody fray, are reported to have appear- 
ed on nulk-white steeds, and, sweeping down whole batallions 
of the Latins, to have given a signal victory to the Romans. 
The son and the son-in-law of Tarquinius were both slain upon 
that fatal field; and Tarquinius himself, in despair, fled to 
Cumae, a city of the Oreeks, where he subsequently died. 

The chronology of this period is in a state of inextricable 
oonfusion. Approaches only to accuracy can be attained. 
These poeticsA fcories have undoubtedly a foundation in fact, 
but how much is mere embellishment can never now be known. 
Some of the laws enacted at this time continued for ages, and 
were barbaric and inhuman in the extreme. A creditor, unable 
to collect his debt, was authorized to arrest his debtor and 
bring him befi>re the court. If no one would be his security 
the poor debtor was imprisoned for sixty days, with a chain 
weighing fifteen pounds upon his person, and fed with a pound 
of grain daily. During these sixty days of imprisonment, he 
was brought before the court on three successive market 
days, and the amount of his debt declared, to see if any one 
would come forward for his release. If, on the third day, no 
friend appeared, he was either put to death or sold into 
slavery. K there were several creditors they might, at their 
option, instead of selling their debtor into slavery, hew his 
body to pieces. 

By the banishment of Tarquinius Superbus the Romans 
bad exchanged the monarchy for an aristocracy. But the 
commons soon found that this aristocracy was as insupporta- 
ble as the reign of the kings. Another revolution ensued, the 
particulars of which are sought for in vain. The revolution 
assumed the character of a servile insurrection, the commons 
«ideavoring in a body to escape from Rome, like the Israelites 

a* 



•4 XTAI»T. 

iVom Sgjpty and to establish a new iiatic»i for themselyeft 
The patricians, alarmed hj the movement, oame to terms, and 
appeased the commons by a grant of privileges which they 
had never enjoyed before. The Mil upon which these condi- 
tions were ratified, was forever after called the sacred hilL 

By the pacification, adopted on the sacred hill, it was 
agreed that five officers called tribones, which nomber was 
subsequently increased to ten, should be chosen by the people, 
and that they should, in addition to other privileges, have the 
power of a veto over aU the acts of the senate. This was s 
signal popular triumph, and the commons were thus gradually 
elevated to share with the patricians the honors and the em<^ 
nmente of their com^aon country. The coxdict, however, be* 
tween the plebeians and the patridana was oontimied for • 
longtinM. 



CHAPTER II. 

PBBTOBSmP, DSOBMYIBATB, AlO) OONSULATE 

Fbom 493 b. a to 433 & a 

Snbt of OouoiJLinrB.— AFFonmiiMY of a Diotatob.— AoHnrnmns of (|i 

VATDB.— Wab with thb .A^uiami avo VouoiAMt.— Thi Boloibbs Bbidbb to 

FxOHT.^lMFAMOnS OONDUOT OF THB NoBUS.— APPIXTS 0LAUOI17S.^TlBOIinA 

Olaubd as a Fvoittfb Slayb.— Slain bt hbb Fathbb.— Inbitbbiotiom op thi 
Pboplb.-»Itb 8uooBaa.—<;)oNBPiBAOT of tub Tomio Noblw.— K^so, son op Gib- 

OINWATU8.~OlNCINNATir8 OHOBBB Ck>Klin..— OhABOB IN H18 ChABAOTBB.— AtBN* 

TiNB Hill Takbn bt thb GomfONi.— Inpbaohmbnt op Appiits Glaudiub.— Tm 
PopuLAB Gaubb Tbiumpbant.— Thb Dbobmyibs Bbjbotbd and Expbllbd.— In* 

TBODVOnON of THB OONSULATBi 

rpHE dictator was appointed for uz months only ; but daring 
-^ that time Ms power was absolate. The revolt of the com- 
mons, and the compromise into which they entered with the 
patricians, seem to have restored affairs to their ancient order. 
We now begin slowly to emerge from the mists of fable into 
the clearer light of anthentic history. The tribunes continued 
the guardians of popular rights, while the senate was ever 
vigilant to extend the prerogatives of the nobles. From this 
time we must date the struggle between the two orders, the 
plebeians contending for equality of rights, and the patricians 
for aristocratic privilege. One Spurius Gassius, who was now 
consul, or pretor, as the office was then called, formed an 
alliance with the Latin confederacy, which was confirmed k 
the most solemn rites. 

The ancient annals here introduce a story which is charao* 
teristic of the times, though its historical verity is not sus. 
taiaed by subsequent research. It is said tl^at there was a 
fiunine in Rome, caused by the revolt of the people, who, in 



3d ITALY, 

their attempt to abandon their oonntry^ had, of oonvae^ neg- 
lected the culture of their fields. The noble6» who had great 
wealth, purchased large quantities of corn from Sicily, and at- 
tempted to extort from the starving people, in exchange for 
bread, the political rights they had gained in their revolt 
Caius Ooriolanus, a haughty patridan, had proposed this plan 
to the senate. The people, exasperated, would have torn him 
in pieces, but he fled, and repairing to the Voladans, a power- 
ful nation south of Bome» persuaded them that.Bome, in a 
state of famine, could be easily subjugated. The Volscians 
raised an army and plaoed it under the joint command of 
Coriolanus and one of their own veteran warriors. 

This army marched upon Borne, and meroilessly ravaging 
the country without its walls, encamped before the city. 
Ooriolanus, thinking that his quarrel was with the commons 
only, hoped for the codperation of the nobles. Several em- 
bassies from the city were sent in vain^ imploring the clemency 
of the victorious army. At lengthy in the midst of general 
consternation, a noble lady, Valeria, who wa« praying in the 
temple, seemed inspired by a sudden thought from the gods. 
She immediately arose, collected a band of Beman matrons, 
and proceeded to the house of Yirgilia^ the wife of Ooriolanus. 
In extreme dejection she was sitting with her children and 
with her husband's aged mother. 

'* We have come to you," said Valeria, ''of our own ac- 
cord. Neither the senate nor the people have sent us; but 
God, in whose temple we were worshiping, has inspired us 
with the thought to come to you, that you may join us, women 
with women, without the aid of men, to win for our country 
a great deliverance, and for ourselves a name glorious above 
all women, even above those Sabine wives of old who stopped 
the battle between their husbands and their fotlieiB. Gome, 
then, with us to the camp of Coriolanus, and let us plead witii 
him for mercy." 

Without hesitancy, Virgilia and Volnmnia, the motiier of 



rBXTOBSHIP, DSOBMTIBATX, OONSITLATB. •! 

OoriolaniiB, joined the matron in thiB patriotio embasaaga 
Emer^g from one of the gates of the city, in Bad and solemn 
procession, they directed their steps toward the Yolaoian 
oamp. The Yolsdan soldiers looked silently on with pity and 
▼eneration. Coriolanus was fonnd in his tent, snrromided by 
his generals. His mother, Yolnmnia, who was at the head of 
the train, advanced hesitatingly to meet him. Coriolanns, 
astonished at the sight of his mother, leaped from his chair 
and ran to embrace her. She with her hand repelled him, 
saying: 

^^ Ere thon kiss me, let me know whether I am speaking to 
an enemy or to my son ; whether I stand in thy camp as thy 
prisoner or as thy mother." 

Coriolanus was silent, knowing not what answer to make. 
Volnmnia, after a moment's pause, continued : 

^^ Must it, then, be that had I never borne a son, Rome 
never would have seen the camp of an enemy? that had I re- 
mained childless I should have died a free woman in a free 
city? But I am too old to endure much Icmger either tby 
shame or my misery. Look, however, to thy wife and thgr 
children. If thou persistest in thy course, they are doomed to 
an untimely death, or to a long life of bondage.*' 

His wife Yirgihus then approadied, her eyes swolkn widi 
tears, and leading her children by the hand. She threw hei^ 
sdf upon her husband's neck, sobbing passionately, while all 
the Roman matrons wept and wailed. Coriolanus was unman* 
ned and conquered. 

"Oh, mother," said he, ^*what hast thou done to me. 
Thine is the victory, a happy victory for thee and for RomOi 
but shame and ruin to thy son." 

He then sent back the matrons to Rome, while he returned 
with the Yolscians to their own territory, where he remained 
in exile until his death. 

It was about this time, during the pretorship of Spurius 
Oassiua, that the agrarian kw was enacted^ which has ongrosai 



C8 ITALY. 

ed 8o much of the attention of subseqnent ages. This law^ 
which divided the pubfio lands among the people, was bitterly 
opposed by the nobles, and, in revenge, they accused Cassias 
of attempting to make himself king. He was consequently 
condemned to death, being first scourged and then beheaded 
His house was destroyed, and the ground on which it stood 
was cursed. 

The patricians, untiring in their endeavors to keep the pl^ 
beians in subjection, succeeded in electing their own partisans 
as pretors, and in preventing the execution of the agrarian 
law. In the prosecution of this conflict the commons refused 
to serve as soldiers, as the British commons, under similar cir« 
cumstances, have often refused to furnish money for the wars 
which the aristocracy, to subserve their own purposes, were 
waging. The power of the tribunes, however, was only of 
force within the walls of the city, and the pretors, by name- 
less outrages, compelled the farming population to enlist in the 
army. At length they gained the important concession that 
the patricians should choose one pretor, and the plebeians the 
other. The conflict between the plebeians and patricians had 
become so strong that at length, in an eventful battle, the ple- 
beians reflised to fight, and submitted to an ignominious de- 
feat, rather than gain a victory which would only redound to 
the increased influence of their aristocratic foes. For a period 
of seven years the nobles filled their place in the pretorship 
with some member of the Fabian family, one of the most opu- 
lent and haughty of the ancienne noblesse of Rome ; fbr even 
then Rome had her ancient nobility. These haughty scions of 
patrician houses, rolling in wealth, and strong in social rank, 
affected to look with contempt upon the pretor chosen by the 
people, and instead of recognizing him as an equal, treated 
Mm as an inferior officer, who occupied but the place of an 
assistant. 

The refiisal, under the circumstances, of the people to fight, 
and the disgraceful defeat which ensued, opened the eyes of 



PBBTCBSHIP, DBCBXVIBATS, OOHBUIATB. M 

tin Dobles, and Qointus Fabios, who was their pretor, in oob 
iunction with Caius Julius the pretor of the people, madt 
Budi strenuous endeavors to regain the popuhir favor, thai h€ 
measurably succeeded in effacing that animosity which threat 
ened even the stability of the state. In a war which soon en- 
sued, some new territory was grasped. To please the peoploi 
one of the Fabii, then pretor, proposed that it should be di- 
vided in equal portions among the plebeians. 

" It is just," said he, '^ thut those should have the land, by 
whose sweat and blood it has been gamed." 

The nobles were exasperated that Fabius should thus aban- 
don their cause, and reviled him as an apostate and a turn-coat. 
But the more the patrioiaiis abused, the more the plebeians ap- 
plauded. The conflict became so bitter that the whole fiunily 
of Fabii, three hundred and six in number, with plebeian fol- 
lowers amounting to four thousand, emigrated from Rome and 
settled on the river Crimera, a small stream emptying into the 
Tiber but a few miles from Rome. Two years had hardly 
elapsed, after this emigration, ere the Etruscans, a powerful 
neighboring nation, fell upon the infant settlement by surprise 
and mercilessly massacred them all. The victorious Etruscans, 
ravaging the adjacent country, advanced to the walls of Rome 
and kdd siege to the city. After many bloody but indecisive 
oonflicts, a truce was entered into which continued for forty 
years. The struggle between the people and the nobles waa 
still ever living ; though with varying success, with ebbs and 
floods, the popular cause was steadily gaining strength. 

According to Italian story, in the year 458 before Christ, 
Rome waa in such peril from the allied assaults of two nations, 
the jSquians and the Sabines, that the senate resolved to in- 
voke the powsr of a dictator. Rome was indeed menaced 
with ruin. One of the pretors, Lucius Minucius, in command 
of the Roman army, had been lured into a narrow defile, where 
the mountains rose around him to inaccessible heights, upon 
•Tfffy side except throu^ the narrow entranoe. This passage. 



40 ITALY. 

the enemy had effectually blockaded, and the destruction rf 
the army seemed sure. Should the army be destroyed Rome 
would be left at the mercy of the conqueror. The senate met 
in consternation to deliberate upon this danger. 

" There is but one man," it was said, " who can deliver us. 
That man is Lucius Quintius Cincinnatus ; and him we must 
invest with dictatorial power." 

A deputation was immediately sent to inform Cincinnatus 
who was an impoverished patrician, of his appointment. He 
was found occupying a little cottage upon the other side of 
the Tiber, cultivating, with his wife Radlia, a small plot of 
ground. 

" We bring thee," said they, " a message of great import- 
ance from the senate. Put on thy cloak that thou mayest 
receive it with becoming dignity." 

Attended by his wife he went into his cottage, and changed 
his apparel, and then presented himself again before the depu- 
ties. 

"Hail to thee, Lucius Quintius Cincinnatus," said the 
deputies. "The senate hath appointed thee master of the 
people, and calls thee to the city. The pretor and the army, 
in the country of the JEquians, are in great danger." 

Cincinnatus without hesitancy accepted the perilous office, 
and tenderly bade adieu to his wife saying, " I fear, my Ra- 
dlia, that this year our little fields must remain unsown." 

A boat was in readiness to convey him across the l^ber. 
The senate, with an immense concourse of the populace of 
Rome, awaited him on the opposite bank. Cincinnatus imme- 
diately ordered every man in Rome capable of bearing arms to 
be enhsted. A poor man, from the ranks of the foot sol- 
diers, Lucius Tarquitius, who had displayed much energy and 
bravery, was appointed chief general under the dictator. With 
such energy were these measures pressed forward, that before 
sunset the whole army was assembled in the field of Mars. 
Every soldier took with him food for five days ; and twelve 



FBBTOB8HIP, DXOXMTIBATB C0N8ULATB. 41 

utakes. The evemng twiligiit had hardly dkn^peared ere thia 
force, BO suddenly collected, commenced its march. Before 
midnight they reached the outposts of the enemy. Immedi« 
ately disincumbering themselyes of thdr baggage they can* 
tioafily surrounded the hostile camp, and each soldier com- 
menced digging a ditch and planting his stakes. This work 
was commoiced with shouts which penetrated the camp of the 
beleaguered R<HnanB, filling their hearts with joy. They reoog- 
mxed the voicee of thdr friends, and exclaimed : 

^'Rescue is at hand, for that is the shout of the Romans.** 
Lnmediatdy sallying from their intrenchments, they made 
so fierce an assault tBat the JBk|uian8 were not able to inteiv 
mpt the works which CSncinnatus was so effeottvely throwing 
up. Through the whole night the fight and the labor lasted, 
and with the morning's dawn the JSquians saw, to thdr great 
consternation, that they were surrounded. A successful d^* 
fense was impossible, and they asked for mercy. Cincinnatua 
demanded the iBquian chief and his two leading generals to 
^ ddivered to him in chains ; and the whole of the rest of 
the hostile army, abandoning their cloaks, their arms, and aO 
thdr baggage, were compelled to pass undw the yoke, which 
consisted of two spears set upright and a third lashed across, 
and were thus sent home hi nakedness, confusion, and shame. 

Cincinnatus now returned to Rome in triumph, acoomr 
panied by his own troops and by the army he had so nobly 
rescued. The exultation in the metropolis was boundless. 
The con<pieror rode in a chariot, with the chie& of the 
.£quians led in chains before lum. At the door of every 
house in the streets of Rome tables were spread with abun- 
dant refireshments for the soldiers. This astounding victory^ 
according to the Roman legends, was the work of but a day. 
CSnoinnatus, with his army, marched out one evening and 
letomed the next. The conqueror now laid aside his dictate* 
rial power and returned to his fiurm, refusing all that wealth 
whieh the senate was aealous to lavish upon him. The time 



48 ITALY. 

of this event is placed in the Roman legends about 460 yean 
before Christ. 

War soon again ensued against the ^quians diid Vol- 
Bcians united. The pretor, Appius Claudius, a haughty aris- 
tocrat, hated by the' people, led the Roman army. The dis- 
contented soldiers refused to fight, and retreated before the 
enemy, throwing away their arms and running away, in an 
affected panic, even at the first onset. Appius, flaming with 
indignation, succeeded in rallying the fugitives as soon aa 
they were out of reach of the enemy, and heaped upon them 
contemptuous reproaches. Not satisfied with this, his ezas* 
peration was so intense that, by the aid of some foreign mer- 
cenaries, he first seized and executed every captain of one 
hundred men who had fled ; then every standard-bearer who 
had lost his colors was put to death ; and then he decimated 
the whole host, executing every tenth man. Even this rigor 
would hardly have been condemned, so scrupulous were the 
Romans upon points of military discipline, had not Appius 
been regarded as the inveterate foe of popular rights, and the 
nnrelenting advocate of aristocratic privilege. The tribunes, 
accordingly, whose privilege it was to impeach, brought him 
to trial, as the enemy of the people. His doom is not known* 
Tradition is contradictory. Whether he killed himself in 
prison to avoid the execution of his sentence, or whether he 
escaped, and, after years of exile, returned to take a part in 
public affairs, can not now be ascertained. 

For many years Rome appears to have been in a very 
deplorable state. The surrounding nations defeated her 
armies, and repeatedly plundered all the region outside of 
the walls of the city. A terrible pestilence again and again 
swept the land. The woes of the whole country for a time 
were such that there was a cessation of the hostility between 
the patricians and plebeians. But as better times dawned 
upon the country the old conflict was revived, and the comi 
moris seemed disposed to demand a radical reform in the con- 



PBSTOBSHIP, DBOBMTIBATK, 00K8ULATB. 48 

stitntion of the state, by which they Bhonld enjoy, in aL 
respects, equal rights with the patricians. They demanded, 
through the tribunes, that ten commissioners should be 
ohosen, five by the commons and five by the patricians, and 
that by them a constitution should be drawn up, conferring 
equal political rights upon all orders of the Roman people. 

The nobles, as ever, were unrelenting in their oppositi(Mi 
to any encroachments upon their prerogatives. The young 
nobles of Rome, like their predecessors, the young nobles of 
Athens, were fond of congregating in dubs. Conscious 
aristocracy gives sel^confidence, and sel^confidence giv^s 
strength. These young nobles were skilled in martial exer- 
cises, bold and domineering. By acting in a body they 
repeatedly broke up the meetings of the commons, and droy« 
them firom the forum. The son of Cincinnatus was one of the 
leaders in these aristocratic riots. He was prosecuted by the 
tribunes. E^sbso, as this young man was called, was proved 
to be of grossly riotous character, and even to have caused 
death in one of his frays. The indignation of the people was 
so strongly roused against him that, apprehensive of con- 
demnation, he forfeited his bail, which was very heavy, and 
fled before his trial came on. 

The young nobles from rioters became conspirators. They 
oourted the commons, speaking politely to them, paying them 
those delicate attentions with which the rich and noble can so 
easily win the regards of the poor and humble. Kseso, in 
exile, held constant communication with them, and gathered 
around him a band of adventurers from all quarters. With 
this force it was the intention of the conspirators that 
Eieso should surprise Rome at night; the young nobles in 
the city were to be prepared to rise and join the assailants ; 
the tribunes and the most obnoxious of the commons were to 
be massacred, and thus the old ascendency of the patricians 
was to be restored. 

Though the conspiracy was suspected, and the tribunes 



^ ITALY, 

were warned of the pen., no effectual measures of protectioa 
were adopted. The assault was actually made, and the city, 
for a few hours, was in the hands of the rioters. They were^ 
however, eventually repelled, and all were either slain or sub- 
sequently executed. Cincinnatus was again called from the 
plow and chosen consul by the nobles. But his character 
appears to have undergone a great change. The death of his 
son KsBSO, by the hands of the conunons, exasperated him, 
and his thirst for vengeance seemed insatiable. Distinctly he 
declared to the conmions that during his consulship no consti- 
tution should be accepted granting the plebeians equal rights 
with the patricians. 

The JBquians and the Yolscians were now pressing the city, 
and for a short time this common danger silenced the internal 
strife. The Sabines joined the allies against Rome, and the 
fortunes of the commonwealth were at a low ebb ; but the 
tribunes, taking advantage of these perils, gained a very im- 
portant point in securing henceforth the election of ten instead 
of five tribunes. The conftised and contradictory annals of 
those days all agree in representing the strife between the peo« 
[de and the nobles as very bitter. The nobles boast of the use 
they made of the dagger in silencing their enemies ; the asson- 
Uies of the people were broken up by riotous violence ; the 
commons were ejected from the houses of the nobles, mobbed 
in thdr own dwellings; their wives and daughters insulted 
in the streets both by day and by night. The mansions of 
the nobles w^e generally built upon the hills of Rome, and 
strongly constructed like separate fortresses, which could bid 
defiance to any sudden attacks. Victims of the malice of the 
nobles were often secretly seized and concealed in the dun- 
geons of their castles where they miserably perished. At one 
time nine eminent men who had espoused the cause of th« 
people were burned alive in the circus. 

The tribunes now, to secure unanimity in their aoti<m aa 
defenders of the popular caose, bound themsetves by a aolonn 



FBBTOBSHIP, DBOXICTIB ATB, OOKBULATB. 45 

Oftth that they would never oppose, but would with entire 
unanimity support the decision of the majority of their num- 
ber. One of the tribunes, Lucius Icilius, then proposed a law, 
that the Aventme hill, which was just outside the bounds of 
the original city, should be allotted to the commonn forever, 
as their exclusive quarter and stronghold. This hill was stiD 
public property, not having yet been divided. Some of the 
nobles had built upon these lands, while other parts were still 
overgrown with wood. The Aventine hiU was one of the 
steepest and most easily fortified of the hills of Rome, and if 
placed in the exclusive possession of the commons, would ren* 
der them as impregnable in their stronghold as were the pa- 
tricians when entrenched upon the other hills of the metropolis. 
The tribunes, very prudently, before bringing this measure to 
the consideration of the commons, where it would be sure to 
provoke stormy debate, submitted it to the consuls, urging 
th^n to present it to the senate, and claiming the privilege of 
supporting the measure before that patrician body, as counsel, 
in behalf of the people. The majority of the senate, hoping, 
it is said, thus to appease the commons and to avoid the execu- 
tion of the Agrarian law, which required the division of the 
public lands among the people, voted for the measure. This 
triumph of the plebeians was deemed an achievement of so 
much importance, that it was confirmed by the most imposing 
religious ceremonies, and the law engraved upon a tablet of 
brass was set up in the temple of Diana on the Aventine hUl. 

By this law, all of the Aventine hill was allotted to the 
oommons, to be their freehold for ever. The people immedi- 
ately took possession of their grant, and before the year was 
closed, the eminence, a large swell of land embracing many 
acres, was covered with their dwellings. 

The patricians now planted themselves firmly agunst al- 
lovnng the plebeians any share in the revision of the constitu* 
tion. For ages this conflict between equality and privilege 
bad been raging, with only such occasional shifting of the 



46 ITAX.T. 

ground as the progress of events introdnoed. The peopk 
pressed the nobles so hard that they were at length oompelied 
to consent that three commissioners should be sent to Greeoe 
to collect such information respecting the laws of the Greek 
states, as might aid them in their new modeling of the govern- 
ment. The return of these commissioners opened the battle 
anew. But the commons were defeated, and the revision of 
the constitution was intrusted to ten men, all selected from 
the patrician order. The commons, however, had the privi- 
lege of choosing five of these men, though they could only 
choose from the ranks of the nobles. Such was the termina- 
tion of a conflict which had agitated Rome for ten years. It 
conspicuously shows the strength of the aristocratic power, and 
the slow steps by which the people beat back its encroach- 
ments. '^ The laws of a nation," says Gibbon, ^^ form the most 
instructive portion of its history." The annals of the past 
have no teachings more valuable than these conflicts of popu- 
lar rights against the tyranny of wealth and rank. 

The ten patricians empowered to draft a constitution 
eagerly commenced their work. As aids they had the unwrit- 
ten laws of their own country, and the information which the 
commissioners had gleaned in Greece. In the course of a few 
months the articles they had agreed upon, were inscribed upon 
ten tablets and set up in a conspicuous place, where all could 
read them and suggest any amendments. The commissioners 
listened to the suggestions thus made, adopted such amend- 
ments as they approved, and then submitted the constitution 
to the approval of the patricians as they were represented in 
the senate, and to the commons assembled in a body called 
the centuries. Their work was accepted, and the constitution 
thus ratified was engraved on twelve tablets of brass and set 
up in the comitium — ^the hall for all great public gatherings. 
These tablets remained for centuries the foundation for aU 
Roman law, and were undoubtedly drawn up in a spirit of 
fidm<«6 and wisdom, or they could not have been so generaUf 



FBXTOBSHIP, DBOXMTIBATBy OONSULATX. 4T 

aooeptable^ From the scanty fragments alone which now re- 
main it is impossible to form an intelligent judgment respect 
ing the whole code. 

The ten men, or decemvirs as they were called, continued 
in power for one year and administered the government, with 
the law of the twelve tables as their guide, to gtmeral accept- 
ance. The change in the executive, which the new arrange* 
ment introduced, amounted simply to having ten consuls 
instead of two. And though the plebeians occasionally sue* 
oeeded in having some of their number elected among the 
decemvirs, these few plebeian office-holders, through the influ- 
ences of bribery and flattery, were easily secured wO support 
the measures of the nobles. Thus the patricuuis were soon 
again exulting in their ascendency. Though the decemvirs 
were chosen annually, they were in all respects kings during 
their short reign. Each oue, whenever he appeared in public, 
had his twelve lictors to walk before him, bearing the ax and 
the rods, the emblems of sovereignty. All having bound 
themselves by an oath to support the measures of the major- 
ity, they were shielded effectually from all minority reports. 

The patricians now became more and more oppressive and 
insolent. The young men of that class, haughty and dissolute, 
reveled in the utmost licentiousness of indulgence, and the 
wives and the daughters of the plebeians suffered many out- 
rages. An insulting law was enacted prohibiting marriages 
oetween the patricians and plebeians. At the dose of the sees 
ond year of the decemvirate, the decemvirs had arrogated so 
much power that they attempted to perpetuate their reign by 
refusing to resign their posts, or to make any preparation for 
the election of successors. The outrages became so intolera 
ble that many of the commons fled from Rome and took refuge 
among the surrounding nations. At length, a signal outrage 
roused the people. 

There was in Rome a young lady of remarkable beauty, 
named Yirgima. She was the daughter of an officer in the 



48 ITAI.T 

army, of plebeian birth. She was betrothed to the iUofltrtovi 
tribune, Lucius IcUios, who had secured tiie passage of the 
law for assigning the Aventine hill to the conunons. One of 
the decemvirs, Appius Claudius, a patrician of very arrogant 
character, cast his eye upon this lovely maiden, and burned 
with the desire to possess her. As she was one day passing 
through the streets, attended by her maid, one of the freed* 
men of Appius seized her, declaring that she was his slave 
Lucius Yirginius, the father of the maiden, was then absent 
with the army engaged in a war agains]t the Sabines. 

As the young lady was grasped by the kidnappers, the 
nurse cried out for help, and a crowd of people were soon 
gathered in the streets, eager to defend her from wrong. It 
was a genuine case for the exercise of the frigitive slave law 
of Rome ; and the law must take its course. The freedmaa 
dragged the trembling maiden before his former master, the 
decemvir Appius Claudius, who was to decide the case, m 
which he himself was the infamous claimant, simply TwaVity 
use of one of his former slaves as his agent. It was contended 
before this tribunal that the maiden's real mother had been 
the slave of the freedman, and that the wife of Lucius Virgin- 
• ius having no children, had adopted this child, who being tha 
child of slave parents was the property of another person. 

The friends of the maiden plead for a postponement of the 
trial, urging that her father was absent, engaged in the cause 
of the conmionwealth — that they would send instantly for 
him, and that in two days he would be in Rome. They, ther^ 
fore, entreated that she might be restored to her home and 
friends until the day of trial. ^^ Expose not her £ur £une to 
reproach," they imploringly cried, by placing her person in the 
possession of a man of whose character nothing is known. 
But Appius Claudius, eager to get possession of his victim, 
assuming an sdr of candor, said : 

** The law is just and good, and must be maintained Now 
dug maiden belongs either to her fttther or to her 



PBSTOBSHIP, DXOBICTIBATB, OONSUIiATX. 4t 

But as her &ther is not here, who but her master can ha^e 
any title to her. Let her, therefore, remain in the hands ci 
him who claims to be her master, till Lucius Yirginius arrive. 
She shall then be brought before my judgment-seat, and her 
cause impartially tried." 

This dedsicm would give Appius Claudius ample time to 
accomplish his infamous desires. At this stage of the case the 
uncle of the maiden appeared, and also young Icilius, to whom 
she was betrothed. They spoke so vehementiy against the 
outrage about to be perpetrated, surrendering the helpless 
maiden to those who olauned hw for purposes wdl under- 
stood, that Claudius was alarmed, iq>prehen8iTe of a mob, and 
was compelled slightiy to retrace his steps. 

*' Upon second thought," said he, ^' in my great regard for 
the rights of fathers over their children, I will let the cause 
remain until to-morrow. But if Lucius Virginius, the reputed 
fiither, does not then appear, let Icilius and his fellows dis- 
tinctiy understand that I will support the laws, and that fih 
natio violence shall not prevail over justice." 

Thus the unhappy Virginia was saved for the moment, and 
her friends set off in the greatest haste to summon her fkther. 
They were, however, compelled to give heavy security that 
she should be brought before the tribunal of Appius Claudius 
the next day. The messenger reached the camp that evening, 
and the father, half distracted with the news, leaped upon his 
horse, and was instantly on his way, with the utmost speed, 
toward Rome. • But hardly had the datter of his horse's hooft 
ceased to reverberate through the camp, ere a messenger arriv- 
ed irom Claudius, trging the tribunes, in command of the 
army, to forbid the departure of Yirginius. But it was too 
late. 

In the dawn of the morning Yirginius reached his home, 
and, at a glance, saw the desperate state of afiEairs. Under 
the forms of law he was to be robbed of his daughter, and she 
WB8 to be handed over, as a helpless slave, into the arms of 



so ITALY. 

patridan lost. The Roman matrons gathered around hhn in 
sympathy, as with a dejected countenance, and clothed in the 
mean attire of a supplicant, he led his daughter to the tribunal 
where aristocratic insolence trampled with contempt upon aU 
popular rights. Earnestly the woe-stricken father plead for 
his child, while Idlius aided In'in with that fervid eloquence 
which love inspired. The matrons, who had followed Vir- 
ginia to the court room, listened silently and in tears. 

But Claudius, fired by passion, and feeling strong in aristo- 
oratic power, was deaf to every appeal, and remanded Vir- 
ginia into the hands of the man who claimed her as his slave. 
A band of armed patricians, calling themselves the friends of 
law and order, were present to prevent any rescue by the peo- 
ple, and to enforce the decree. Lucius Virginius, in despair, 
begged permission of the court to speak one parting word to 
his child. His request was granted. Approaching the weep- 
ing Virginia, as if to impress one last kiss upon her cheek, the 
noble Roman drew from his bosom a poniard and plunged it 
into her heart, exclaiming : 

" This is the only way, my child, -o keep thee free." 

Then turning to Appius Claudius, he brandished the crim- 
soned weapon, saying, ^' On thee and on thy head be the curse 
of this blood." 

Taking advantage of the confusion the scene created, Vir- 
ginius rushed through the crowd, though Claudius called out 
loudly to seize him. He effected his escape, and, mounting 
his horse, rode rapidly to the camp to rouse the soldiers to 
avenge his wrongs. Icilius, the lover, and Numatoris, the 
uncie of the maiden, bore her blood-stained body into tht 
streets and exhibited it to the people. Their indignation was 
roused to the highest pitch. A great tumult was excited., and 
the infamous Claudius, in disguise, with difficulty escaped with 
his life. The whole city was in an uproar, the masses c£ the 
people making conmion cause with Virginius. The soldiers, 
sdring Virginius enter the camp, his dress disordered and 



PBXTOB8HIP, DBOBHTIBATB, COKBULATB. il 

ilaiiied with blood, and the gory knife in his hand, listened 
eagerly to his story. One common feeling of rage inspired 
their breasts. Grasping their arms and unfurling their baa* 
ners, they oommenoed their march toward Rome. 

As they entered the dty, the populace gathered around 
them, and the whole united body of soldiers and oitiaeni 
marched to the Aventine hill, where, in their own proper home, 
they established their quarters. Here by acclamation they r^ 
pudiated the whole body of decemvirs, demanding that they 
should immediately resign their posts, and elected ten tribunes 
to protect the rights of the people. Another portion of the 
army, which was under the command of Icilius, hearing the 
story of this outrage, pursued the same course, and pressing to 
the Aventine hill, joined their comrades, and also chose tea 
tribunes, making twenty in all. In the mean time the senate 
was convened. The twenty tribunes deputed two of their 
number to confer with the senate. The patricians, alarmed al 
the triumph whidi the popular oause was gaming, struggled 
hard to regain their lost ascendency. 

The patrician decemvirs refused to resign, and the aristo- 
eratic senate sustained them in their refusal. The commons, 
now united as one man, supported by the army, and animated 
by so holy a cause, finding that nothing was to be done to 
satisfy them, left a garrison in charge of the Aventine hiD, and 
fai military array marched unopposed through the city, and 
pasfflng out at the Colline gate, again established themselves 
apon the sacred hill. Men, women, and children followed in 
^his imposing procession, so that Rome was nearly emptied of 
Its populace. The dissolution of the commonwealth was thus 
threatened ; for the city would now fall an easy prey to any 
foe who should invade it. 

The patricians were alarmed and yielded, and the decern^ 
▼ira resigned. Icilius, frantic with grief at the loss of his be* 
trothed, demanded of the deputation, consisting of Valerius 
and Horatius, sent by the patricians to the sacred hill, the lives 



n ITALT 

of the decemvirs. The patridans, to conciliate the commons, 
had sent two of the friends of popular rights as commis- 
sioners. 

"These decemvirs," said he, "are public enemies, and we 
wiU have them die the death of such. Give them up to us, 
that they may be burnt with fire." 

More moderate counsels, however, soon prevailed. The 
yengefhl demand was withdrawn, and the commons returned 
to Rome, satisfied with the expulsion of the patrician decem- 
virs from office. Ten tribunes were now elected from among 
the commons, and invested with enlarged powers. The form 
of the old government was essentially again restored, and two 
magistrates, with the title of consuls, were elected and invested 
with supreme power. This was a new title^ for before this 
time the consuls had been called pretors, or captains-general. 
Both of these consuls seem to have been elected by general 
Buffi*age, and so much strength had the people acquired by 
their firmness and moderation, that both of their candidates, 
L. Valerius and M. Horatius, were elected ; and thus the gov- 
ernment passed into the hands of those who were devoted to 
the rights of the people, rather than to the ascendency of the 
patricians. 

A new constitution was now drafted, in which it was at- 
tempted to unite the two conflicting orders, and place them on 
a lootmg of entire equality. The whole community meeting 
in one general assembly of plebeians and patricians, were de- 
clared to be supreme, and their decree was constitutional law. 
Still it was the privilege and at the same time the duty of the 
senate to sanction this decree. The annals, however, of those 
distant days are so confrised that it is impossible to follow a 
distinct line of narrative. We simply behold through all the 
intense eagerness of the patricians to maintain their exclusive 
privileges, and the jealousy with which the commons watched 
over their own rights, and the firmness with which they en- 
deavored to enforce them. Various measures were adopted 



PBBTOBBHIP, DXOSMTIBATX, OON8VLATB, it 

without any apparent intention to break down the distinction 
between the commons and the nobles, but simply to place the 
two orders on terms of equality. But the very existence of 
the two distinct orders, as recognized powers in the state, was 
the inevitable prelude to eternal warfare. There can never be 
iiarmony without the recognition of universal fraternity. Two 
ciders in the state, with a gulf between, necessarily become 
conflicting forces. Equality of rights is the comer-stone of 
the gospel of national harmony. The existence of an enslaved 
class in our own land, comparatively few in numbers as that 
class is, who are deprived of the rights which their more for- 
tunate brethren enjoy, is the direct or indirect cause of nearly 
all our national troubles. Even with the new constitution the 
dishonoring law was permitted to stand which declared the 
marriage of a plebeian with a patrician to be unlawful — ^baae 
and unholy amalgamation. The bloodless revolution, however, 
which had thus taken place in behalf of the people was mani* 
festly very great. 

Appius Claudius was now singled out from the rest **f the 
degraded decemvirs and impeached. Powerftd in weaAt and 
rank, he gathered a band of armed young nobles around him, 
and assumed an attitude of defiance. The charge brought 
against this infamous man shows the spirit of freedom which 
then nobly glowed in the bosoms of Roman citizens. Claudius 
was indicted for having — 

"In a question of personal freedom assumed that the pre- 
sumption was in favor of slavery ; in having adjudged Vir» 
ginia to be regarded as a slave till she was proved free, 
instead of regarding her as entitled to her freedom till sh 
was proved a slave." 

The guilty decemvir was thrown into jail to await his 

trial. The facts were known to all, and an outraged com* 

mnnity demanded his punishment. There was no escape, and 

the wretched man anticipated justice by committing suicide."* 

* SacL is the aooount Livy gives, lii. 58 Dionjsius, however, states, zl 



0% ITALY. 

Spurius OppiuB also, one of the colleagues of Clatilius in the 
decemvirate, underwent a similar fate. His tyranny had been 
insupportable. In a freak of passion, without any extenuating 
cause, he had ordered an old and distinguished soldier to be 
cruelly scourged. The other decemvirs, intimidated by this 
Beverity, fled from Rome, losing all their property by confis- 
cation. 

The patricians were now prostrate, and the good-natured 
people began to pity them. This animated the hopes of the 
patricians, and assisted by those of the people who favored 
their cause, they renewed the struggle which had already 
continued through many ages. The aristocracy again devel- 
oped unanticipated strength, and took a firm stand in the 
attempt to prevent the new constitution from going into 
effect. The commons retaliated by saying : 

" If you patricians will not have the constitution, we will 
at least keep matters as they now are. We have two consuls 
whom we can implicitly trust. We have ten true and zealous 
tribunes, the leaders of our late glorious deliverance. We 
will retain these, and then the patricians can gain but little by 
their opposition." 



46, that it was the general opinioii that daodiufl was aasass&oated in priioD 
by order of the tribanea 



CHAPTER III. 

00NIII0I8 AT HOMB AND WABS ABROAIK 
Fbom 433 b. a to 318 b. a 

or AH AsBiooBAOT^-DnfAiiM or Tm PunBiAra.*^nvooui ov na Pavm- 
OIA1I8 Aoahtbt Populax Riobts.— Thx Omo« or OniaoB^— In DnronnL— Iv- 
vABioN or TBB Oaulb.— Dkfsat or THs RoMAV ▲B]iT.«-8Aax or Ron.— 4noa 
or THs Gaproi..— Tbbxb or Pbaob.— Mavuvb.— Hn Pbilaiitbropt and Com- 

OSMVATION. — DUPOTIBll Or GAMILLnS.— GONQimT Or THB PBIYBRMAnANI— WaB 
WITH THB SaMHITBB.^— DBABTBB AT THB OaVDXKB FOBKa.->MAOMAXIlll*T OV POH- 

nvB. — Chabaotbbjstio Romak Pbidb amd Hbbodil 

FTIHE inherent strength of an aristocraoy, bo long as it retains 
-*- any of its pristine vigor, is ever found to be one of the 
most formidable instrmnents of government, and one of the 
most impregnable barriers to the advance of popular enlight- 
enment. The sagacious few can only hold the many in sub- 
jection by keeping them in ignorance. One man, who has 
dear vision, can easily dominate over an hundred, if he can 
but succeed in plucking out their eyes. By skill and cunning 
the patricians succeeded in placing their own men in the con- 
sulate, and in setting aside the popular constitution. Affidrs 
speedily returned to their old state, and the two orders of 
patricians and plebeians were rendered more distinct and 
antagonistic than ever before. The plebeians were again 
exposed to violence and insult. Haughty and dissolute young 
nobles, organized in dubs, supported one another in their 
outrages. The commons complained bitterly, but they found 
no man adequate to act as their leader in breasting the encroach- 
ments of a powerful aristocracy. The patricians ever rallied 
with entire unanimity in support of the assumptions of their 
party, and so great was the strength of unity of action, the 



56 ITALY. 

pride of high birth, the power of patrician dubs, and of ski]] 
in the use of martial weapons, that the commons, notwith 
standing their great preponderance in numbers, were still 
held in a state of humiliating subjection. The nobles were 
large slaveholders, and in those days of darkness could easily 
arm their slaves in their defense. No man could save himself 
from perpetual annoyance, and often from the grossest out- 
rages, but by withdrawing all opposition to patrician inso- 
lence. Thus all but the very boldest — ^the martyr spirits — 
were completely subjugated. But nobles who thus live, 
dwell upon a volcano ever heaving. 

We can not follow in detail the tedious conflict. A bold 
man, C. Canulieus, one of the tribunes, at length nerved his 
colleagues to demand, with him, ^'that the Consulship should 
be thrown open, without distinction, to the members of both 
orders." This led to a tumult, in which the commons in a 
body rallied, left the city, and established themselves on the 
other side of the Tiber. The patricians, alarmed, again 
yielded, and consented to a compromise, abrogating the 
insulting law which prohibited marriages between the two 
orders, and making other concessions, which were reluctantly 
accepted as terms of peace. 

We have now arrived at that period in the world's history 
in which Thucydides, Herodotus, Pericles, and Socrates were 
performing their immortal parts in waning Greece. A new 
office was at this time organized — that of the censorship. It 
became an office of most formidable power. Though nomin- 
ally the censor was but to take a register of the number of 
citizens and their taxable property, he in reality could decide 
the rank the citizen was to hold, could put what valuation he 
pleased upon his property, and arbitrarily decide the rate of 
taxation. From his decision there was no appeal. It is diffi« 
cult to concdve of a despotism much more crushing than this. 
He who refrised to obey the censor could be degraded and 
utterly ruined. The censors had, in addition to thes<» appall 



OOHVLXOTfl AT HOHX AVD WABS ABBOAOb 61 

fag powers of despotism, the entire charge, as stewards, of 
the reyenues of the state. 

Abont this time there was a great fhmine in Rome, and the 
distress was so severe that large numbers of the poorer people 
committed suicide bj throwing themselyes into the Tiber. A 
wealthy commoner, Sp. Msslius, purchased quantities of grain^ 
and, bj its gratuitous distribution to the starving, made him 
■elf so popular that the patricians were very apprehensive that 
he might secure his election as a plebeian consuL To avert 
this danger they appointed the old yet energetic Cincinnatus 
dictator. Mounting his horse, the iron-nerved old man rode 
into the streets, surrounded by a military array of well armed 
young nobles, and ordered the arrest of MsbUus. The illustri* 
ous plebeian, conscious that his doom was sealed, endeavored 
to escape, but he was overtaken and cruelly murdered. Cin> 
oinnatus defended the foul deed by saying: 

** Mffilius had aimed at making himself king. To meet this 
danger the senate had appointed a dictator. I had purposed 
to bring MssUus to trial ; but as he refhsed to obey my sum- 
mons, he was lawfully slain." 

The power of the dictatorship quelled all serious tumult. 
It is stated in the andent annals that during these contentions 
many of the patricians espoused the popular cause, and thus 
became the idols of the people. The patricians, as a body, re- 
garded those who thus forsook their ranks as degraded, and 
cast them out of their synagogues.* Still the commons were 
gradually growing more rich, intelligent, and powerful. 

The accounts which the ancient writers give of wars waged 
by the Romans, during these ages, are by no means reliable 
Many of the triumphs loudly vaunted are demonstrably fabu 

* Gioero expresses some doubt respecting this alleged fraternization of 
aristocrats with plebeians. He deems it so improbable that he thinlcs the 
Btoiy must have been invented by the plebeians. But this was certainly Um 
ease m the French revolution. There were no more earnest advooates of 
^uLur rights than Miiabeaa and Lafi^retts^ 



56 ITAZ.T. 

lotifl. SlJIl Neibhnr, with skill and sagacity never surpassed, 
has drawn out a general outline of the conflicts, which convey 
all the information upon that subject which it is now possible 
to attain. The JSquians and Yolscians had long been the most 
formidable foes of Rome, and they oflen at this time carried 
their plundering conquests up even to the walls of the city. 

The whole majestic valley of the Po, spreading out between 
&e Alps and the Apennines, constituting, in loveliness of scen- 
ery, salubrity of climate, and fertility of soil, one of the most 
&vored regions upon the sui-face of our globe, was, at this 
period, occupied by the Etruscans, Ligurians, and Umbrians, 
wealthy, powerful, and warlike nations. Of these remote re- 
gions of the north, Rome, struggling agaihst her immediate 
neighbors, knew but little. About four hundred years before 
Christ, immense bands of wild, savage men, shaggy, and al- 
most as brutal as bears and wolves, came pouring down from 
France, then called Gaul,'*' through the passes of the Alps, and 
with victorious arms overran the valley of the Po, and planted 
themselves upon the banks of its beautiful waters. Gradually 
pressing onward in their conquests they approached Rome, 
menacing the city with subjugation and destruction. 

These Gauls, with an army seventy thousand strong, de- 
vastating the whole region through which they passed, were 
rapidly descending the Italian peninsula. The Romans, in- 
formed of their approach, in great alarm raised forty thousand 
troops, many of whom were raw recruits, crossed the Tiber to 
the right bank, and marched to meet the foe. But the Gauls 
had crossed the river in its upper branches, and were moving 
^own the left bank. The Roman generals, when apprised of 
this, were thrown into the greatest consternation. For many 
nules above Rome the Tiber was not fordable, and at that time 
there were no bridges, and boats could not be obtained for the 

♦ According to Livy, y. 34, 36, it was 387 years before Christ that the 
Gauls in vast numbers crossed both the Alps and the Apennineii Than 
oaa, however, but little reliance be placed in these remote traditioiau. 



OOWXiIOTS 4T HOlkS AVD WAB8 ABBOAD. Bd 

tsmspoTtation of bo large a force. The Roman territory dii 
not then extend more than fifty miles from the city in any 
direction, and in the north its limits were very narrow. 

The Roman army hastened by forced marches back to the 
city, crossed the river without a moment's delay, and had ad* 
TBnced bat twelve miles from Rome up the left bank when 
they met the Gkiuls, elated with success, pressing forward, 
eager for carnage, conflagration, and plunder. Upon the pre- 
cipitous banks of the Alia, a small stream emptying into the 
Tiber, the Romans awaited their foes. The Gauls, in over« 
powering numbers, with hideous yells rushed upon them. 
After a short conflict the Romans were everywhere routed. 
Many, in the midst of a scene of awftd carnage, plunged into 
the Tiber, and endeavored to swim to the opposite shore. 
But the Gauls overwhelmed them with their javelins, and 
nearly the whole army was destroyed. A few breathless, 
Needing fugitives reached the dty, conveying tidings of the 
ftwM disaster. The city was now defenseless. This decisive 
batde was fought the 18th of July, 390 years before Christ. 

The Gkkuls passed the night aft;er their victory in cutting 
off the heads of the slain, to convey them to their homes as 
household ornaments and lasting memorials of thdr valor. 
The next day, like wolves who had ahready lapped blood, they 
came rushmg upon Rome. The citizens fled in all directions, 
taking with them such of their effects as they could easily re- 
move. A picked band of soldiers was, however, thrown into 
the citadel to defend it to the last extremity. When the Gauls 
forced the gates and entered the city they found the streets 
nearly empty. They immediately spread themselves in all di- 
rections, plundering and destroying. The mass of the Romans 
had escaped to Yeii, a city on the western bank of the Tiber, 
some fifticen miles from Rome. A number of old men, of 
venerable character and senatorial rank, unable to aid in the 
defense of the citadel, and deeming it beneath their digmty to 
■eek safety in flight, met together and took a solemn oath bv 



66 ITALY. 

which they devoted themselves to death for the honor of theb 
country. Arraying themselves in their senatorial or BacerdO" 
tsl robes, gorgeously embroidered, according to the custom of 
the times, they took their seats, each on his ivory chair of 
magistracy, in the gateway of his house. 

The Gauls were alarmed at the aspect of these venerable 
mcE,, arrayed in splendor such as they had never seen, and 
they doubted whether they beheld mortals or whether the 
gods had descended for the defense of the city. One of the 
barbarians cautiously drew near M. Papirius, and began rever- 
ently to stroke his long, white beard. The Roman noble, indig- 
nant at such familiarity, nearly cracked the skull of the Gaul 
by a blow with his ivory scepter. The Gaul instantly cut him 
down with his sword. This was the signal for a general mas- 
sacre, and all the old men were speedily slain. 

The barbarians now turned their attention to the citadel on 
the Capitoline hill. The immense rock rose then from the 
plain and the Tiber's banks in a precipitous cliff, accessible 
but by one path. By this approach the Gauls attempted to 
storm the fortress, but were repulsed with much: slaughter. 
They then blockaded the hill, and, while endeavoring to starve 
the garrison to surrender, spread their devastations through 
all the surrounding region. Thus weeks passed away, while 
the Gauls were plundering and destroying far and wide ; ex- 
tending their conquests even into the present territory of Na- 
ples. 

In the meantime the Romans who had taken reftige at Veii, 
began to recover a little from their consternation and to or- 
ganize in preparation to attack the foe. The city of Veii was 
on the right bank of the Tiber, some fifteen miles, as we have 
before stated, above Rome, which city was then almost en 
tirely on the left bank of the river. A heroic ycung man, 
Pontius Cominius, wishing to open communication between 
the garrison in Rome and the troops which were being or^ 
ganized at Veii, by night floated down the Tiber, and succeed 



OOVFLIOT8 AT HOMX AVD WAB8 ABROAD, M 

«d in aso^iding the preoijntoiifl diff of the Oapitoline hill, by 
digging footholes in the s(»l and grasping the bushes whi<A 
sprung up here and there along the face of the asoeot. He 
was sucoeesful in this perilous adventure, and returning by the 
way in which he came, regained Yeii in safety. 

In the morning the Gauls saw evidence that some one had 
clambered up the &oe <^ the jweoipioe, and they resolved, by 
the same path to make an assault* The spot was not guarded, 
for it had been deemed inaccessible. At midnight, in profound 
ffllence, a picked band of the Gauls commenced climbing the 
oli£ So noiseless was their aj^roaoh that even the watch- 
dogs in the Roman camp gave no alarm. Upon the summit 
of the hill there were three temples reared to the guardian 
gods of Rome — Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. In the temple of 
Juno some geese were kept, which were deemed sacred to that 
goddess. As the story goes, these geese, by some instinct, 
perc^ved the approach of danger, and b^^ to flap their 
wings and to cackle. A Roman officer, M. Manlius, aroused 
by their unusual agitation, sprang up, called his comrades, and 
fan out to ascertain the cause of the alarm. 

At that moment he saw the head of a Gaul just rising 
above the brow of the precipice. Rushing upon him he dashed 
the rim of his shield into his face and plunged him headlong 
down the dif^ As the savage MLy he swept down others, who 
were behind him in his path, and the Romans, crowding to 
the brow of the hill and hurling down missiles of every kind, 
easily repulsed the foe with great slaughter. For six or seven 
months the blockade was continued, and yet there seemed to 
be no prospect of starving out the garrison. Autumnal fevers 
raged in the camp of the besiegers, and decimated their ranks. 
Kews also arrived that the Venetians were overrunning the 
territory in Etruria, which the Gauls had conquered, and were 
estaUishing themselves in power there. The Gauls, under 
tikese circumstances, were anxious for some excuse to raise the 
iiege and retire. The Romans, also humiliated and beggared* 



M ITAZtT. 

were solioitonfl for peace on ahnoBt any terms. Famine wai 
staring them in the face, for their provisions were nearly con- 
enmedy and they knew not where to look for more. 

Both parties being thus eager to terminate the strife, and 
neither being conscious of the desperate condition of the other, 
terms of peace were easily agreed upon. The Romans offered 
ft large sum of money to the Gauls if they would retira 
Promptly the unexpected offer was accepted; and the barba- 
rians assuming an air of triumph, waved their banners, and 
with shouts and trumpet peals prepared to raise the siege. 

A thousand pounds weight of gold according to the story, 
was to be paid. As the barbaric chieftain was weighing the 
treasure, the Roman commissioner, Q. Sulpicius, complained 
that the weights were not fair. The Gaul haughtily threw his 
massive broadsword upon the heavily laden scale which the 
gold was to lift. 

" And what do you mean by that ?" inquired Sulpicius. 

" VcB victia eaae^ proudly answered the Gaul. 

Rome was subdued, and there was no remedy but to sub- 
mit to the wrong. Laden with plunder the Gauls returned 
across the Apennines. The Romans were so humiliated in 
view of this defeat, that after issuing innumerable versions of 
the story, each of wliich redounded less and less to their shame, 
they at last settled down upon the entirely apochryphal narra- 
tive, that while the gold was being weighed out the Roman 
army from Yeii approached, under Camillas, attacked the 
Gauls at the sword^s point, recovered the ransom, and put 
every individual of them to death, so that not one was left 
to carry to his countrymen the tidings of the unparalleled 
slaughter. This is but a specimen of the boastftd stories with 
which the Romans of a more modem date, garnished the sep- 
ulchers of their fathers. 

The evidence is, however, conclusive that the Ghtnls retired 
with their plunder, leaving Rome, and much of the sun*oimd- 

* Anglioa,*-" To the yictora belong the spoilB." 



€OVFLX0TS AT BOMB AVD WARS ABROAD. #• 

ing region, an entire desolation. As the fugitiye Romans re- 
turned from Ym they were so mnch dejected in view of the 
smoldering ruins of their city — for the toroh of the Qaul 
had oonsomed every thing that fire would bum — that they 
seriously contemplated abandoning the site entirely, and tak- 
kg up their residence at YeiL After much deliberation, it 
was decided to remain at Rome ; and vigoroudy the reoon- 
ttmction of the dty was commenced. But the Romans were 
now so weakened in power and diminished in numbers, that 
they were incessantly attacked by marauding bauds from 
neighboring semi-barbaric tribes and nations. It was proba* 
bly this which led them to adopt the wise policy of incorpor- 
aling, as citizens, emigrants from every quarter, and to estab- 
lish a very generous policy in the administration of the gov* 
emm^it, giving to every head of a family a farm of about 
seven acres,* and allowing stone to be quarried, and timber to 
be felled freely, from any of the public lands for purposes of 
building. 

At one time the Yolsdans came upon the <nty in such num- 
bers that the Romans were blockaded, and, as usual in every 
hour of peril, appointed a dictator. Camillus, who was thus 
invested with unlimited power, ordered every man into the 
field who was capable of bearing arms. In a midnight march 
they emerged from the walls, fell upon the Y olscians in the 
darkness of the earliest dawn, attacked them in front and 
rear, and cut them down in merciless carnage. The victors 
were wiping their bloody swords when they heard that anoth- 
er army was approaching Rome, on the right bank of the 
river. Camillus aUowed his troops not a moment for rest, bu 
traversing the intermediate space with apparently tireless sin 
ews, met the Etruscan foe, intoxicated and disorganized in the 
plunder of Sutriam, a city which they had just captured. His 
oonquering legions swept the streets crowded with the riotous 
bacchanals, speedily regaining the city, and the Etruscans mia- 

* Jygmra; a pieoe of gioimd 240 IM in length by 120 feet in breadth. 



M ITALY. 

erably perished. Many petty wars ensued which lArj wH- 
nutely describes, but which are now unworthy of mention. 

The Roman law in favor of the patrician creditor and 
against the plebeian debtor, was, as we have before narrated, 
atrocious in the extreme. M. Manlius, the same man who had 
dashed the Gaul over the precipice with his shield, and had 
thus saved the capitol, and who by this act had gained great 
honor and renown, was one day walking through the streets 
of Rome, when he saw a captain who had served under him, 
and who had been a distinguished soldier, seized by a patri- 
cian for debt, and dragged through the forum as a slave, to 
toil in his creditor's work-shop. Manlius indignantly protest- 
ed against the outrage, legal though it was, and paying the 
debt upon the spot himself, emancipated the debtor. This 
deed greatly added to his popularity, and the masses of the 
people began to proclaim him loudly as their protector. Man- 
lius sold a portion of his property at auction to raise ready 
money, and declared he would never again see a fellow-citizen 
made a slave for debt, so long as he had the means of prevent- 
ing it. In a short time he saved four hundred debtors from 
slavery by advancing money, without requiring any interest. 

Manlius was now enthroned in the love of the people, and 
they called him with one voice their father. The patricians 
were alarmed, fearing that through his popularity he might 
attain political office and power. To arrest this peril they de- 
clared the country to be in danger, and succeeded in inducing 
the senate, which they controlled, to appoint a dictator. Oos- 
sus, who had once before held the office, summoned Manlius 
before him, and threw him into prison. He was soon brought 
to trial under the charge of conspiring against the state, and 
was aiTaigned before a court composed of plebeians and patri- 
cians. 

Conducting his own defense, he eloquently first brought 
forward four hundred debtors whom he had rescued from 
slavery; then be exhibited the spoils of thirty enemies whom 



CONFLICTS AT HOMB AVD WABB ABBOAD, tf 

he had filain in single combat on the field of battle; he then 
presented to the conrt forty rewards he had received from the 
state for his heroic exploits; among these were eight gaiv 
lands of oaken leaves, in attestation of his having saved the 
Hves of eight Roman citizens. Some of these men, whose 
lives he had saved were also produced in court. Finally, he 
bared his own breast and exhibited it covered with scars, from 
wounds received in defense of his country. It is not strange 
that the court should have re^ed to condemn a man who 
oould present such a defense. 

But the dictator summoned another court, composed of 
the patricians alone. By them Manlius was promptly c<m 
dinned as a traitor, and was hurled from the Tarpeian rock, 
his house leveled with the ground, and disgrace attached even 
to the name. This victory of the patricians greatly confirmed 
their power. The commons had now lost all heart and were 
in despair, while the patricians were becoming equally strong 
at home and abroad. 

" But freedom's battle onoe began, 
Bequeathed from bleeding eire to aon. 
Though baffled oft is eyer waD.** 

Even the tribunes, chosen expressly for the protecticm of 
popular rights, abandoned their offices, which only exposed 
them to odium, without enabling them to accomplish any 
good. The leading commoners generally declined standing 
candidates for a position of utter impotency. Under these 
circumstances two young men, bold and enthusiastic, C. Li« 
dnius and L. Sextius were elected among the ten tribunes, 
lioimua was from one of the most opulent of the plebeian 
&milies, and was emboldened by that consciousness of powei 
which great wealth ever gives. Sextius was a young man of 
congenial spirit, and the warm personal friend of Licinius. 
These two young tribunes came forward with the intrepid de- 
mand that one of the two consuls should ever be chosen from 
among the plebeians, who wwe fiur more numerous than the 



M ITALY. 

patricians, and whose rights it was, consequently, at least inii 
portant to protect. The whole body of tribunes, strengthen- 
ed by these leaders, joined in the demand. 

This audacious proposal astounded the nobles and roused 
their most ireful opposition. A scene of extraordinary anar- 
chy and strife ensued. The commons, with ever increasing 
enthusiasm, rallied around their fearless leaders. Licinius, 
emboldened by the support he was receiving, added to his 
requisition, and demanded that the commons should be eligi- 
ble to the sacerdotal office as well as to the consulship. It is 
difficult now to conceive of the astonishment and indignation 
with which the patricians listened to these requirements. 
The popular feeling, in favor of these measures, was, however, 
BO ardent and impetuous, that it was fbund impossible to resist 
it by any ordinary procedure, and the patricians consequently 
resorted to their old expedient of calling in the strong arm of 
a dictator. 

Camillus, the most unrelenting foe of the commons, was 
invested with dictatorial power. Rome was then, as ever, at 
war with some neighboring nation, and Camillus, pretend- 
ing that the exigencies of the war demanded the vigorous 
measure, ordered every man in Rome capable of bearing 
arms to follow him to the field. But the people, aroused and 
exasperated, and conscious that the edict was merely aimed at 
their own subjugation, refused to obey. So unanimous was 
the refusal that Camillus was left powerless, and in shame 
resigned his office. 

" There is nothing," writes Arnold, " viler than the spirit 
which actuates the vulgar of an aristocracy." The whol 
history of the conflict between aristocratic assumption an 
popular rights, from the earliest dawn of history to the 
present hour, does but elucidate this truth. The degrading 
Belfishness which induces pride and power to grasp at all the 
good things of Hfe, dooming the feeble to ignorance and 
debasement, is worthy of all detestation. For this there k 



COHF-LICTB AT HOMX AKD WARS ABROAD. 6t 

BO remedy but in the frateniity the gospel inctilcates — ^all men 
are brothers. 

After a long and stormy conflict, the lidnian bills were 
carried. But when the people met for choice of consols 
imder this law, and the plebeians chose Seztns for their 
oonsnl, the wrath of the humiliated patricians burst out anew. 
But the conmions stood firm, and, for a time, Rome was 
seriously menaced with civil war. At length both parties 
assented to a compromise, which secured temporary peace. 
The plebeian consul was confirmed, but the judicial power 
was separated from the consular office and retiuned in the 
hands of the patricians. Thus terminated a struggle of five 
years' duration. But the commons had made a great gain, 
securing eligibility both to the consulate and to the sacerdotal 
office. It was a bloodless victory, and until the end of the 
repubtic the consulship, with one or two trivial exceptions, 
continued to be shared by the commons. Five hundred years 
of Roman history passed away without producing a single 
historian or philosopher. By the dim Ught of tradition, and 
the glimpses we can catch firom Grecian narratives, we grope 
through these dark ages. 

The Romans now, year after year, in many bloody con« 
flicts, which it would be tedious to enumerate, pushed their 
conquests through the southern portion of the peninsula. 
One fierce battle, beneath the shadow of Vesuvius, secured 
the annexation of a large portion of the present kingdom of 
Naples to Rome. Here again was developed the grasping 
spirit of the patricians. Of the territory thus gained, three 
acres only were assigned to each of the plebeians, while the 
great families of the aristocracy usurped the rest. The patri- 
dans were slowly but perseveringly endeavoring to regain 
their lost ascendency. 

We h^ve now reached that period in the world's history 
when Alexander the Great was commencing his conquests. 
His victories rapidly extended from the ^goan to the Indus, 



68 ITALT. 

and from the Caspian to the Nile; and through all theM 
realms the institutions of Greece were planted. The western 
coasts of Italy, then occupied by barbaric tribes, swarmed 
with pirates. Complaints of their ravages had been carried 
to Alexander. Rome had now attained such power that 
Alexander, deeming the Romans responsible for the good 
behavior of that portion of Italy, sent to them a remonstrance 
against these outrages. It is said that Roman ambassadcNrs 
were consequently deputed to Babylon to meet the great con- 
queror, and that he was deeply impressed with their manly 
bearing. 

In a war with the Privematians, about this time, the 
Romans, after besieging the capital city of their foes for two 
years, were triumphant. Some illustrious prisoners wero 
brought to Rome, and arrayed before the senate, who were 
to decide their doom and the doom of the nation. One of the 
consuls asked one of the deputies : 

** Of what p^ialty, even in your own judgment, are your 
countrymen deserving ?" 

^' Of the penalty," was the intrepid reply, ^^ due to thoie 
who assert their liberty." 

" But if we spare you now," rejoined the consul, " what 
peace may we expect to have with you for the time to 
come?" 

" Peace true and lasting," was the answer, " if its terms 
be good ; if otherwise, a peace which will soon be broken." 

Some of the senators, enraged by replies so defiant and 
yet so heroic, declared that this was language of rebellion, 
which deserved the most severe punishment. But the ma- 
jority, with a more appreciative spirit of true nobleness, said : 

^' These men, whose whole hearts are set upon liberty^ 
deserve to become Romans." 

It was, therefore, proposed to the people, and carried by 
aodaim, that the Privematians should be incorporated with 
the BomanS; and admitted to the rights of Roman citix^u. 



OOKFLI0T8 AT HOMX AKD WABS ABBOAD. 69 

To consolidate their conqneRts the Romans, who were now 
rapidly making acquisitions of territory throughout the south- 
em portion of the Italian peninsula, while they were making 
no progress in the north, established a colony of three hun 
dred emigrants at Anxur, the present town of Tarracina, on 
the frontiers of what is now the kingdom of Naples. Roman 
laws were extended over the whole conquered domain, and 
Roman magistrates were sent to enforce those laws. Each 
colonist was allowed two acres of land for a house, lot, and 
garden, with a share in the conmion pasturage. 

There was a very powerM nation called the Samnites, oo- 
cupying much of the region now belonging to Naples. About 
three hundred years before Christ, the progress of the Roman 
arms brought Rome in conflict with this people. The foe was 
so formidable that the appointment of a dictator was deemed 
necessary. Through some influences, of which we are not in- 
formed, the senate at this time was remarkably popular in its 
character, and, to the consternation of the patricians, appointed 
an illustrious plebeian, M. Claudius Marcellus, dictator. There 
was a sort of supreme court then in existence, called the Col- 
lie of Augrus, which was entirely under the control of the 
patricians. In the appeal which the nobles made to this court, 
declaring that there was some illegality in the appointment of 
Marcellus, the court, of course, decided against the commons, 
and the appointment was pronounced void. 

The patricians, elated by this victory, now attempted the 
repeal of the Licinian law which gave the commons eligibility 
to the consulship and to tne sacerdotal office. In this attempt 
they were baffled. Alexander of Macedon, in the mean time 
had died, and Greece was beginning to exhibit indications ol 
decay. The sun of Roman power was rising, and that of 
Grecian splendor majestically descending the horizon. Foi 
twenty years the Romans waged incessant war with the Sam* 
Dttes, with varying success. 

In the fifth year of the war the Romans met with an oye^ 



M ITAI.T. 

wfaelming defeat. For ages it oonld not be forgotten as onu 
of the most hmniliating reverses of the Roman arms. The two 
consuls, Yeturius and Postomios, at the head of two armies, 
marched into Campania. The Samnite goieral, 0. Pontins, » 
man of Grecian culture and education, adroitly lured the Romao 
armies into a mountain defile, which, in oonseqn^ice of this 
event, has obtained a world-wide renown, under the name of 
the Caudine Forks. 

Twenty-five miles northwest of Ns^les there is the little 
decayed city of Avellino. A wild gorge, which nature has 
cut through the Apennines, leads from here to Benevento. The 
modem road from Naples to Benevento runs through this d^ 
file, which is called the valley of Arpaia. Here the Romans 
found themselves entangled in a ravine, frowned upon by inao> 
cessible crags, and surrounded by the Samnite army. Barri- 
cades in front, crowded with troops, and bristling with all the 
ancient instruments of war, rendered advance impossible. The 
pass in the rear was closed by strong battalions of the foe 
against any retreat. There was no possibility of escape ov» 
the precipitous hills. Every available spot from which missiles 
could be hurled upon the invaders was occnpied by the Sam- 
nites. For a short time the Romans, like lions in the toils, 
struggled to extricate themselves. But having lost half their 
number, and accomplishing nothing, they encamped as they 
best could, and throwing up entrenchments, placed themselves 
entirely on the defensive. Pontius, sure that there was no 
escape for his victims, incurred no risks, but waited quietly fbr 
the slow but inevitable operation of i^unine. The Romans, 
emaciated and haggard, were soon brought to terms, and 
implored the mercy of the conqueror. 

Pontius proved himself a magnanimous, though a dete^ 
mraed foe. " Restore to us," said he, " the towns and terri- 
tory you have taken from us. Call home the colonists whom 
you have unjustly settled upon our soil ; lay down your arms 
and surrender all your munitionB of war ; take an osih hers- 



COKFLICTS AT HOME AND WARS ABROAD. 11 

after to respect the independenoe of our nation, and surrendef 
to me six hundred Roman knights as hostages to secure the 
ratification of the treaty, and you may defile before my army 
as prisoners whom we have released, and return to your homes 
unharmed." 

These were generous terms for the conqueror to yield, but 
very humiliating terms for proud Romans to accept. But 
there was no alternative but destruction. The consuls and all 
the surviving officers took the oath. The hostage knights 
were delivered, and then the whole Roman army, consuls, 
generals, and soldiers, in a long procession, stripped of every 
article of clothing, except the kilt, which reached from the 
waist to the knee, thus leaving the whole upper part of the 
body naked, marched through a passage opened for them in 
the Sanmite lines of blockade. They all defiled beneath a 
spear, supported upon two which were planted in the ground. 
Such a humiliation, which was richly merited, the Roman 
legions had never encountered before. Pontius humanely 
ordered carriages to be provided for the sick and the wounded, 
and supplied them with provisions sufficient for their wants 
until they should reach Rome. 

When this melancholy procession, with Roman pride so 
healthily humbled, arrived at Capua, they were received with 
much condolence, and the consuls and superior officers were 
provided with arms and clothing, that their appearance might 
be more suited to their dignity. They then continued their 
march in a state of mortification which no language can d^ 
scribe, ashamed to speak to each other, or to raise their eyes 
from the ground. When they drew near the city all the com- 
mon soldiers, who had homes in the vicinity, singly and silently 
dispersed, that they might reach those homes unseen. Those 
who lived in the city, unwilling in their deep disgrace to enter 
in the broad light of day, lingered outside of the walls until i* 
was dark, and then stealthily crept to their habitations. 

The loss of life in this campaign threw all Rome into 



n ITALY. 

mourning, but the humiliation was a blow still more keenly 
felt. All business was suspended, all pleasure interdicted; 
marriages were postponed, and all thoughts wer^ directed to 
the obliteration of the dishonor. The two unfortunate consuls 
immediately resigned their office, and much difficulty was 
found in choosing their successors. The question now arose, 
" Shall the treaty be ratified ?" Postumius, one of the consuls 
of the previous year, came forward and made the astonishing 
proposition, equally characteristic of Roman ambition and the 
Roman sense of honor, that the treaty should be rejected, and 
that he himself, with his colleague in the consulship, T. Yetu- 
rius, and every officer who had taken the oath to the Samnites, 
should be surrendered to them as having promised what they 
were unable to perform. The senate adopted this resolve, 
even though many of them had, doubtless, sons among the six 
hundred hostages thus abandoned to the vengeanoe of the 
Samnites. 

The two consuls, with all the officers, were oonduoted by a 
Roman herald back to the country of the Samnites. As they 
approached the camp their hands were bound behind their 
backs, and they were thus delivered up as men who had for- 
feited liberty and life by a breach of faith. As soon as the 
surrender had been made, Postumius^ the ex-consul, who now 
belonged to the Samnites as their slave, so that they were now 
responsible for his actions, turned and with his knee (fbr hia 
hands were bound) struck violently the Roman herald who 
had surrendered him, saying : 

'^ I now belong to the Samnites. I have insulted a Roman 
ambassador. Rome can justly wage war against the Samnites 
to avenge this outrage." 

Nothing redeems this shameful trickery but the intrepidity 
which could brave slavery and death to promote national ag- 
grandizement. Such conduct may be called heroic, but it is 
the heroism of dark and benighted natures. The conduct of 
Pontius was truly noble. 



OOKFLIOTB AT HOME AND WAB8 ABROAD. 78 

**I shall not accept these victimfl,'' he said. ^^They are 
not guilty. Rome has reaped the advantage of the treaty c£ 
Caudium in the liberati^a of her army, and now she refuses to 
fulfill the conditions. It b a mockery both to the gods and 
men to pretend that such perfidy is justice. If Rome would 
rescue her name from infamy, let her either replace her legions 
in their desperate condition, or ratify the treaty." 

So sayinp^. he sent the consuls and their compaiii<ni8 baoki 
vnhvrt, to Rome. 

4 



CHAPTER IV. 

ftOMR, QBEEOB, AND GABTHAQB. 
From 318 b. a to 241 b. a 

fiB iPmABnm. or m GAUDm Fobxs ATnoxn.— Pakixm nr Bomk— I>mo<SA0T m 
Appiim CLAin>nre. — Iqmoblb TssATinarr ow Pommm.— Statb or na Wobu> at xm 
Tm.— CoAunox aoaiubt Roms.— Thb Gkxbxb Jon nn OoAunoir.— Praunn 
liAinw ox THs Italiah PninrBuiiA.— Pbookob op thk Wak. — ^Expituioh op the 

GbBKKBwIkTASIOX OP8lCn.T.->WAB WITH CASTHAOB.~lHTAnOH OP AfRIOA.— flTOmT 

OP BMiin.178.— YioiosnB avb DsnAn.— Boms TmiUMFiiAHT.— Sicily axxcxbo to 

KOMS. 

ACCORDING to the Roman story, in which not much reli- 
ance can be placed, the Romans, the next year sent a pow- 
erfal force under a renowned champion, L. Papirias Cursor, who 
seyerely chastised the Sanmites for their audacity in conquer- 
ing a Roman army. Cursor took, they say, one of the chief 
cities of the Sanmites, recoTered all the arms and banners they 
had taken, rescued the six hundred knights which had be^ 
surrendered to them, and conveyed them all safely to Rome. 
Hius boastfully, on paper, the disgrace of the Caudine Forks 
was effiu^. It is, nevertheless, unquestioned, however little 
we may regard these boasts, that the war between the Romans 
and Sanmites continued with increasing exasperation, and that 
the fortunes of war were decidedly in favor of Rome. At 
l«[igth the Sanmites were crushed entirely, all their territory 
seized by the conquerors, aad strong military colonies estab 
fished in different parts of the country to hold them in subjec- 
tion. The Romans were now so powerful that no combination 
of tribes could successfully oppose them. They pushed their 
emquests eastward, over the Ap^mines, to the Adriatic, and 
■orth into tke wilds of Etruria. A Roman navy was n^dly 



SOME, OBBEOB, AlTD OABTHAGB. fi 

tiamg into exiBtenoe, and the eo^getio refmblio towered fa^ 
eontestably above all the sorroimdiiig nations. 

The coounonwealth of Rome was now oomposed of three 
•eading parties. First there was the old aristocratic party^ 
the ancient patricians ; then came the middle class or oommonSy 
who had gradually, by wealth and intelligence, gained many 
political privileges. They were deemed Roman citizens^ were 
entitled to vote, and were eligible to nearly all offices in the 
army, the church, and the state. Then came the third class, 
which consisted not <^ citisens but of sul^ecU^ freed slaves, and 
the inhabitants of conquered districts, who were brought un- 
der the dominion of Roman law, but were not entitled to the 
rights of citkenship. There was a fourth dass, the slaves, 
which history scarody deigns to notice. They were then 
probably few in number. The third dass even, ancient annak 
would scarcdy have noticed but for the fitct that the nobles 
often called the brawny arms of these freed men and ford^^ 
ers into requisiticai to enable them to resist the commons ; just- 
as in the French revolutions the nobles roused the blind ene^ 
gies of the mob, to overthrow ccmstitutional liberty, intendii^ 
. iq>on the ruins to redrect the andent dei^tism. 

The middle party had now become the most powerful, en^ 
bradng many of the most distinguished men of the timea. 
Kot a few of the patridans of noblest character were in sym- 
pathy with the commons, and supported their measures. The 
office of censor, in point of rank, was the highest office In the 
commonwealth. The censors had far more power than the 
consuls, and from their decision there was no appeal. • Three 
hundred and thirteen years before Christ, Appius Claudius 
and C. Plautius, were elected censors. Plautius, from some 
chagrin, resigned, leaving the whole power for five years in 
the hands of his ambitious and energetic colleague, Appius. 
With the arts of a demagogue, Appius, whose duty it was to 
111 the vacandes which had occurred in the senate, placed oo 
that list, to iJie utter scandal, not only of the patricians, but of 



y§ ITALT« 

the commoners, who were now growing aristocratic, the namei 
of men selected from the low popular party. These men, thus 
selected, thongh energetic in character ahd possessing wealth, 
were the sons of freedmen, and thus, in Roman parlance, the 
grandsons of nobody. Appius resorted to this measure in the 
same spirit in which a prime minister of England creates a 
batch of nobles from the commons, to strengthen his vote in 
the House of Lords. Though this measure was opposed so 
bitterly that for a time it was thwarted, Appius, unintimida- 
ted, persevered in the same line of policy and admitted a large 
number of freed slaves to the rights of dtizenship, thus 
strengthening his party. 

Appius having thus gained the support of the masses, in 
the enjoyment of kingly power, resolved to construct works 
of public utility, which should inmiortalize his name. As cen- 
sor he was the treasurer of the public frmds, and assuming the 
responsibility, without any authority from the senate, he ap- 
plied immense sums to the construction of a military road 
from Rome to Capua, near Naples, a distance of one hundred 
and twaity miles. This magnificent road, called the Appian 
Way, was constructed of hexagonal stones, exactly fitted to 
each other, and portions of it still remain, having survived 
the ravages of two thousand years. He also constructed an 
aqueduct, which conveyed water, mostly underground, from a 
distance of eight miles to Rome. These two works were so 
expensive that they exhausted the revenues of the state. 
Though the regular term of the censor's office was but eigh- 
teen months, Appius, bidding defiance to law, retained his 
censorship for five years, and then succeeded in securing his 
election as consul, so that he continued in office until his 
works were completed. 

Two hundred and ninety-four years before Christ, the Gauls 
in cooperation with many allies, and in such force as to giv« 
them great confidence of success, marched again upon Rome. 
The Romans, in two vast armies, advanced to meet them. 



BOMB, GBEBOB, AVD OABTHAQB. 11 

The ooniliot took place on the plains of SeDtinam. T%e Ro- 
mans were signally victorioas. The allied army was routed 
and dispersed^ with the loss of twenty-five thonsand of their 
host troops. Soon after this the Romans sucoeeded in the c^>- 
tare of C. Pontins, the renowned Samnite general, who had 
defeated the Roman legions so signaQy at the Candine Forks, 
and who had treated his discomfited foe with such wonderful 
magnanimity. The yiotorious Roman consul, Q. Fabius, char 
ioted in splendor, made a triumphal entrance into Romeu 
Pontius was led a captive in chains to grace the festival. As 
the victor, in the procession, turned from the sacred way to 
ascend the Capitoline hill, Pontius was led aside into a dun- 
geon beneath the hill, and beheaded. Thus infiunously did 
Rome requite the magnanimity of a foe who had spared the 
lives of Roman armies left entirely in his power, and who had 
liberated unharmed, the generals Rome had surrendered as an 
expiation for her perfidy. 

During the consulate of M. Gurius Dentatus, a very eneiw 
getic plebeian who worked his way to supreme power, crush- 
ing aristocratic opposition before him, Rome made such con- 
quests in the north and south, that Dentatus enjoying two tri- 
umphal entries to Rome in one year, declared to the assembly 
of the people: 

" I have conquered such an extent of country, that it must 
have been left a wilderness had the men whom I have made 
our subjects been fewer. I have subjected such a multitude 
of men, that they must have starved if the territory conquered 
with them had been smaller." 

With these immense conquests came the impoverishment 
of the people, from the enormous expenses of the war, and 
Rome was overwhelmed with misery by one of those fearful 
pestilences which have ever, in past ages, been surging over 
the nations. In this emergence, Curius Dentatus resolved to 
appropriate the territory gained in these conquests for the re- 
lief of the public distress. He, therefore, proposed an agra- 



It ITALY. 

rhn law which should allot seven acres* of the public domain to 
:3yei7 citizen. The proposition roused the most bitter hostil- 
ity of the patricians, who, with deathless! tenacity, were strug- 
gling to widen the gulf between the patricians and plebeians. 
It seems that the proposition of Curius Dentatus was in favor 
of the middle class, the citizetia^ who had the privilege of vot- 
^g, not of the Ipwer class, the subfects^ who had no vote. At 
this time the slaves were so few as not to be taken into the 
account in any public measures. The patricians, in their mad- 
ness, called in the aid of the mob ; and tumults swept the 
streets of Rome. But the soldiers whom Curius had led to 
conquest rallied around him, and by their aid he triumphed 
over both the nobles and the Jacobins^ as the same dass of 
people were called in the somewhat similar conflicts of the 
French revolution. 

While these conflicts were raging most fiercely, foreign 
foes, probably firom Etruria, menaced the city. The immedi* 
ate appomtment of a dictator was deemed necessary, and Q. 
Hortensius, a man of opulent and even ancient plebeian &mi« 
ly, was placed in office. He summoned an assemblage of the 
whole nation, without distinction of orders, in a place called 
the " Oak Grove," just without the walls of the city, and there 
proposed three radical laws. Ist, A general bankrupt law, 
releasmg all poor debtors firom their obligations ; 2d, an agra- 
rian law conferring seven acres of the public domain upon 
every citizen ; and 3d, a law depriving the senate of its veto, 
and declaring the people, assembled in their tribes, to be a 
supreme legislative power. There were one or two other 
laws of minor importance also enacted. The passage of these 
laws secured comparative mtemal peace to Rome for a period 
of one hundred and fifty years. A census taken about this 
tune gave a return of two hundred and seventy-two thousand 

* The RvKDan acre, jugera^ contained but three thousand two hundred 
vqtiare yards. The EngliBh acre otmtains four thoaaand eigfat htindred aoA 



SOXB, OBEBOB, AKD OABTHAGB. 79 

three hundred and twentj-two citizens ; but it ia impoBsible 
from this to judge, with much accuraoj, what was then the 
population of the republic, — about two hundred years before 
the birth of Christ 

One of the remarkable events of this period, was the send- 
ing an embassy to Greece to Invite the god .^culapius to 
Rome to arrest the plague, which had then been raging three 
years. They brought back the god in the form of a snake, 
and erected a temple for his worship upon an island in the 
Tiber. 

Forty years after the death of Alexander the Great, Seleu- 
ens, the last survivor of his generals, then a man seventy-five 
years of age, and sovereign of Asia, returned to Greece. His 
vast reakns, which he had inherited from the great conqueror, 
extended from the Hellespont to the Indies. He had but 
just landed on the Tfaradan Chersonesus, when he was assas- 
smated by Ptolmy Ceraunus, who had seized upon the throne 
of Macedonia. Antiochus, the son of Seleucus, succeeded to 
the throne of Asia. Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, was now 
king of Egypt — ^having received this kingdom from Alexan- 
der, in the division of the Grecian empire. Such, in the 
main, was, at this time the fragmentary condition of that 
Grecian empire which, but half a century before, had held 
the mastery of the world. 

About the year 281 b. c. commenced one of the most for- 
midable coalitions against Rome which had yet been organiz- 
ed. The Ghiuls, with the northern nations, codperating with 
the nations in the extreme south of the Italian peninsula, in- 
vited Pyrrhus, king of Epinis, a kingdom on the western 
shore of Greece, to send an army by sea, to act m concert 
with them for the destruction of Rome. Pyrrhus, atnbitious 
of military renown which might promote his projects at home, 
sent an army across the sea from Greece, a distance of about 
one hundred and fifty miles, into the gulf of Tarentum, on the 
extreme southern point of Italy. He landed here at Tareo 



BC ITALY. 

turn, twenty thoasand fbot soldiers, twenty-five thousand a«4p 
ers and slingers, and fifty elephants. In the spring of the 
year 280 before Christ, this formidabte armament of veteran 
soldiers was prepared to take the field. The nations of Italy, 
hostile to Rome, were exceedingly elated, and rallied to ooop* 
erate with these powerful invaders. Rome was never before 
in so great peril, and vigorously the Romans prepared to en- 
counter the enemy. An army consisting of thirty thousand 
foot and two thousand six hundred horse, under one of their 
consuls, Valerius LsBvinus, advanced to meet the foe, and 
the forces encountered each other in the shock of battle near 
the shore of the gulf of Taranto, on a large plain, then called 
the plain of Heradea, probably near the present site of Poli- 
coro. 

A hand-to-hand fight, with dubs, spears, swords, arrows, 
and javelins ensued, in which physical strength alone mdnly 
was to decide the issue. Pyrrhus, conscious that the safety of 
his army was dependent upon the preservation of his own life, 
and that every Roman warrior would seek to encounter him, 
not very chivalrously exchanged uniforms with one of the offi- 
cers of his guard. The royal helmet and scarlet doak attracted 
attack jfrom every quarter, and Megades, the guardsman, was 
soon struck down. His fall was received with shouts of 
triumph throughout the Roman lines, and while they were ex« 
ulting over the hehnet and mantle, which had been torn from 
the body of the slain, Pyrrhus rode along the ranks of hia 
troops bare-headed, to satisfy them that he was still alive and 
well. 

Seven times the triumphant Romans drove the troops of 
Pyrrhus in wild disorder over the plain. Seven times Pyrrhus, 
rallying his troops, in war's surging billow, swept back the 
foe. Each general endeavored to lure all the forces of the 
enemy into battle, holding back a reserve, which, m the hour 
of exhaustion, should come rushinor fresh upon the field and 
settle the strife. At lengtk LsBvinus, believing that Pyrrhufl 



B01C9, OBKK09, AND 0ABTHAO9. 81 

had brought forth his last reserve, marched his own upon the 
field from behind a curtain of hills. It was a chosen body of 
cavalry, and the plain trembled beneath thdr iron hoo&, as 
they came, with gleaming swords, thundering into the midst 
of the fray. Bat the wary Greek was not taken by surprise. 
A few trumpet blasts were heard, and instantly there emerged 
from their concealment fifty elephants. At a speed even sur* 
passing that of the horses they came thundering upon the 
plain, and with their resistless momentum and heavy tramp 
GTUshed all before them. 

The Roman horses, terrified by the unwonted spectacle, 
wheded and fled frcHu the monsters in resistless panic The 
riders lost all control over them, and rushing through the lines 
of the foot soldiers, the whole army was thrown into disorder. 
Pyrrhus followed up his advantage by a vigorous charge, and 
the rout was entire and hopeless. 

But for an event almost accidental the Roman army would 
have been annihilated. A soldier chanced to cut off with his 
sword the trunk of one of the elephants. The animal, terrified 
and thus rendered helpless, crying with torture, turned back 
upon the pursuing army. The other elephants, instinctively 
appalled by the cry, also turned, and in the midst of the con« 
fusion and dismay thus occasioned many of the Romans escaped. 
It is impossible now to ascertain the loss upon either side, but 
Pyrrhus remained complete master of the field. The loss of 
Pyrrhus was, however, so great that ho said to one who con- 
gratulated him, ^^One more such victory and I should be 
obHged to return to Epirus without a single soldier." 

The conqueror now pressed forward toward central Italy, 
at the same time sending an ambassador to Rome with terms 
of peace. Cineas, who was entrusted with this commission, 
was a Oreek from Thessaly. It is said that in his early youth 
he heard Demosthenes speak, and the marvelous eloquence of 
the orator inspired him with the desire to emulate his power. 
The tongue of Cineas, it was said, won more cities than th« 

4* 



8t ITAI.T. 

sword of pTrrhns. He had cidtiyated his memory to so ex- 
traordinary a degree, that the first day after his arriyal in Rome 
he could address all the senators and tbie dtizqns of the eques- 
trian order by their proper names. The courtly Greek, tho- 
roughly instructed in all the learning of his countrymen, 
attracted great attention. His wise sayings were treasured up 
and repeated from mouth to mouth, and the senate, b^uiled 
by his address and flattered by his presents, were about to 
assent to terms of peace &,r from honorable to Rome. 

In this emergence Appius Claudius, who was now in ex- 
treme old age, and who for several years had been blind and 
borne down by many bodily infirmities, was carried in a litter 
into the senate house. The profoundest silence reigned in the 
senate as the old man rose to speak. . His eloquence recalled 
the senate to a sense of Roman honor ; and at the dose of his 
speech it was voted, almost by acdaim, that no peace should 
be concluded while the hostile Greeks remained in Italy, and 
that Cineas should be ordered to leave Rome that very day. 

Pyrrhus, resolving to prosecute the war with all possible 
vigor, advanced with a large army, almost unopposed, as far 
as Capua, which dty was unsuccessfully attacked. Relinquish- 
ing the siege of the dty, he pressed on until he arrived within 
dghteen miles of Rome. From the hills upon which he en- 
camped he could discern the towers of the dty. During this 
long march Ladvinus, with the wreck of his army, had hung 
upon the rear of the Greeks, ever careftilly avoiding offering to 
him an opportunity for battle. Here he learned that Rome 
had made peace with the Etruscans and other northern nations, 
and was prepared to meet him with an overwhelming force 
Commencing a predpitate retreat, he soon in his ships reached 
Tarentum in safety. 

The Romans sent to Tarentum to propose to Pyrrhus 80 
exchange of prisoners. He refiised either ransom or exchange, 
unless the Romans would accede to the terms of peace he had 
offered through Cineas *, but with singular generosity he allowed 



BOM9, OBBBOB, AND CABTH«.OB. 89 

d the Roman prisoners to go to Rome to spend the holidays 
of the Saturnalia, exacting from them a solemn promise that 
they wonld return, unless the senate oonsented to peace. The 
senate reftised peace, and denounced the punishment of death 
upon any prisoner who should remain in Rome after the day 
appointed for his return. 

The next season the campaign was opened anew, and the 
two armies met on the plains of Asculum, near the present city 
of Ascoli. In the battle which ensued, Grecian discipline pr^ 
vailed, and though Pyrrhus himself was wounded, the Romans 
retired, leaving six thousand upon the field of battle. The re- 
mainder of the season was passed in desultory and indecisive 
war&re, and as winter set in the Greeks retired again to 
Tarentum, while the Romans went into winter quarters In 
Apulia. 

Pyrrhus was now quite disheartened as to the prospect of 
conquering Rome. It so happened that the island of Sicily 
was then engaged in war with Carthage, and a powerftd 
Carthaginian army was besieging Syracuse. The Sicilians 
sent to Pyrrhus imploring his aid, and he accordingly, leaving 
a garrison in the citadel at Tarentum, embarked for Sicily. 
For two years he was engaged in war there, with very cruel 
and bloody, but indecisive results, when he received an embas- 
sage from his old aUies in Italy, imploring his return. In the 
autumn of the year 276 b. c. his fleet again entered the har- 
bor of Tarentum. But in the passage he was attacked by the 
Carthaginian fleet and seventy of his ships were sunk. 

A Roman army was speedily on the march to meet the in- 
vaders. Pyrrhus attempted to surprise his foes in a midnight 
attack. By torchlight they commenced their march. The 
night was dark and windy ; the distance longer than was an- 
ticipated ; the torches were blown out, and the men lost their 
way. Thus the morning dawned before the Greeks, utterly 
exhausted, reached the bights which looked down upon the 
Roman camp. The Romans were prepared for them, and the 



M ITALY. 

batde could not be delayed. The battle was shorty bit yery 
bloody. The elephants, pierced with javelins, tamed and 
trampled down the ranks of Pyrrhus, and the victory of the 
Romans was decisive and effectual. Pyrrhus retreated with 
the wreck of his army to his ships, and spreading sail returned 
to Epirus. 

The Romans, after the expulsion of the Greeks, without 
difficulty extended their sway over all the nations of southern 
Italy. To complete the subjugation of these nations, strong 
colonies were planted iu the midst of them. The Roman ar- 
mies were equally successful in the north, and thus after a 
struggle of nearly five centuries the whole Italian peninsula 
came under the sway of Rome. The Roman colonies were, in 
reality, garrisons established in the most populous regions. 

The renowned empire of Carthage was situated upon the 
coast of Africa, near the present site of Tunis, almost directly 
south from Rome. JThe Mediterranean is here about one hun- 
dred and fifty miles iu breadth. But the island of Sicily, 
which is two hundred miles in length and one hundred and 
fifty in breadth, lies directly between Oarthage and the ex- 
treme southern point, or toe of Italy ; being separated from 
the African coast by a channel eighty miles in width, and from 
Italy by the narrow strait of Messina but two miles across. 

The Carthaginian republic, which was, at this time, per- 
Haps the most powerful nation on the globe, originated in a 
Phcenician colony which laid the foundation of Carthage 
about one hundred and forty years before the traditional as- 
signment of the building of Rome. The Carthaginians had 
a large fleet and skilliul seamen, which gave them the entire 
command of the sea. Their conquering armies had taken 
possession of the island of Sardinia, which was about one 
hundred miles north from Carthage, and their war ships 
were hovering around Sicily having brought nearly the whole 
island under their sway. 

Ambitious Rome now turned her eyes to Sicily, and resold 



B0M9y OBBB09, AND OABTHAGB. 8i 

ed to take possemon of it With the energy which thus far 
had characterized the nation^ a fleet was soon built, and an 
army a£ twenty thousand men assembled at Reggia, the Ital- 
ian port nearest to the Sicilian shore. Appins sacceeded in 
transporting his troops, notwithstanding the vigilance of the 
Carthaginian ships, across the strait, and landing them, by 
night, on the Sicilian coast. Hanno, commander of the Cartha* 
ginian forces on the island, hastened to meet Appius, but was 
defeated in a pitched battle and retreated to Syraoose. The 
Romans, after plmidering the snrromiding country, followed 
the foe to Syracuse. Here the tide of war set against thenu 
Sickness decimated their ranks, and after an unsuccessftd bat- 
tle, Appius retreated to Messina, pursued by the allied Syra- 
cnsians and Carthaginians. Leaving a garrison there, Appius 
returned to Rome in his ships, which were mainly impelled by 
oars, that he might gather reinforcements for the continuation 
of the war. 

In the spring of the year 263 b. a two consular armies, 
amounting to thirty-five thousand men, crossed the straits, and 
landed at Messina. They swept all opposition before them, and 
speedily w^e in possession of sixty-seven towns. Many of 
the Sicilians now entered into an alliance with the Romans to 
drive out the Carthaginians. Between two such powerftd and 
unscrupulous nations their independence was impossible, and 
they preferred subjection to Rome rather than to Carthage. 

But while Rome was thus ravaging the cities of Sicily, the 
Cartha^nian fleet, in command of the sea, was making con- 
tinual descents upon the Italian towns, destroying and plun- 
dering without mercy. This led the Romans to resolve to 
meet the enemy on their own element. But the Carthaginians 
were &r superior to the Romans in naval architecture, con« 
structmg line-of-battle ships, if we may so call them, with 
five banks of oars. These enormous structures were called 
quinqueremes. The Romans had thus far been able to ooih 
Btmet only triremes, or ships with but three banks of oars* 



W ITALT. 

it SO happened that a Carthaginian qoiB^uereme was driv- 
en ashore on the coast of Italy, and the Romans, taking theii 
model from the wreck, in two months built and launched two 
hundred such ships. While these ships were building, the R j>- 
man soldiers were constantly exercised in rowing, by bdng 
placed on benches on the shore, arranged as they would be in 
the ship. These quinqueremes carried three hundred rowers 
and one hundred and twenty soldiers. It was always the en- 
deavor to pierce the foe with their brazen prows, and then set- 
tle the conflict by boarding. To fecilitate this operation a long 
drawbridge, thirty-four feet long and four wide, with a low 
parapet on each side was attached to a mast. This bridge was 
let fall upon the enemy's ship, which it held fast by a strong 
iron spike fixed at the bottom of the platform or bridge, and 
which was driven home into the deck by the force of the fall. 

Thus equipped, the Romans put to sea to contend with the 
strongest naval power then upon the globe. The expedition 
was commanded by one of the consuls, C. Duilius. He found 
the Carthaginian fleet not far from the straits of Messina, on 
the north coast of Sicily, ravaging the coast near Melazzo. 
The Carthaginians bore down upon the foe in full confidence 
of victory. But Roman prowess was triumphant. At the 
dose of the fiercest strife for a few hours, the Carthaginians, 
having lost fifty ships taken or sunk, with three thousand men 
slain and seven thousand taken captive, retreated in a panic. 
The Romans, exceedingly exultant at this victory, landed, 
took Melazzo by storm, and now resolved to drive the Car- 
thaginians, not only out of Sicily, but also out of Sardinia 
and Corsica. 

But Carthage was altogether too powerful to be subdued 
by one victory. For three years war, with all its horrors, 
desolated the cities and plains of Sicily. At the same time 
expeditions were fitted out both against Sardinia and Corsica. 
As no decisive results were obtained, the Romans decided on 
an expedition hitherto unparalleled in any of their conflicts 



BOlCBy OBKBOX, ▲HD OABTHAOB. M 

They prepared a fleet of three hundred and thirty Bhipti 
which were manned by one hundred and forty thousand men: 
and resolved tto cairy the war into Afiica. Carthage, sent 
three hundred and fifty ships to meet the foe. The tenifio 
encounter of more than three hundred thousand combatants 
took place on the coast of Sicily. Such another naval speotft* 
ele earth has perhaps never witnessed, as hour after hour 
these maddened legions struggled with demoniac ftiry. No 
war of the elements ever equaled this tempest of human 
passion. 

But again Rome was triumphant. The Carthaginians, 
having lost ninety-four of their ships either captured or sunk, 
retreated in consternation to Carthage, to save the city, if 
possible, from the invaders. The passage to Africa was now 
unobstructed. The fleet pushed vigorously across the sea, 
and the troops were disembarked upon the African coast, a 
short distance from the headland of Cape Bon, in the bay of 
Tunis. The coast here runs nearly north and south, and the 
region presented an aspect of opulence, thrifty and beanty, 
such as has rarely been surpassed. The villas of the Cai^ 
thft ginmn gentry, embowered in olive groves and vineyards, 
every where decorated the rural landscape. Cattle browsed 
upon the hills ; villages were scattered over the plains, while 
the highest attainments of agriculture, aided by an African 
sun, spread over the whole country the bloom of an extraoi^ 
dinary verdure. 

Into this inviting region the Romans plunged, with an 
army of fifteen thousand foot and five hundred horse. The 
Carthaginians, who had never even dreamed of such an inva- 
sion, were quite defenseless. The march of Regulus, the 
Roman general, was unimpeded, and he soon sent word to 
Rome that he had plundered over three hundred walled 
towns. Having arrived within twenty miles of Carthage, and 
not feeling sufficiently strong to storm the city, the Carthagi- 
Dians having made the most extraordinary efforts for iti 



i8 ITALY 

defense, Regnlos threw ap his intrencfamentB and went into 
winter quarters. Some of the interior AMcan tribes, lured 
by the hope of plunder, joined the Romans. The Carthagi- 
nians sent to Greece to engage the assistance of renowned 
Grecian generals. Among others, a Spartan officer named 
Xanthippus, a man of much military experience and celebrity, 
espoused their cause. So much confidence did he inspire 
that he was intrusted with the direction of the Car thaginian 
forces. 

Assembling a choice army of veterans, consisting of twelve 
thousand foot, four thousand cavalry, with one hundred 
elephants, Xanthippus marched from Carthage to attack the 
Romans in their encampment before they could recdve reen- 
forcements from Rome. The battle was very fierce and long 
continued, but finally the Romans were entirely routed, and 
their destruction was so entire that Regulus escaped from the 
field with but five hundred men. He was pursued, overtaken, 
and made prisoner, while every man of his guard was slain. 
Thus the Roman army was absolutely annihilated, with the 
exception of a small body of troops lefr in garrison at Clypea, 
an important town on the coast. The Carthaginian army 
returned to Carthage in triumph, leading, as a glorious trophy, 
Regulus, half naked and in chains. 

The Roman senate, informed of the disaster, and unable 
immediately to attempt to repair it, sent an expedition to 
Clypea, to bring off the garrison, which was closely besieged. 
A very powerful armament was dispatched, which beat off the 
Carthaginian fleet advancing to repel them, and then suc- 
ceeded in rescuing the garrison. But as they were returning 
home along the southern coast of Italy, a terrific storm arose, 
and two hundred and sixty ships were wrecked. The de- 
struction of life was enormous, it being estimated that one 
hundred thousand men perished in this awftd storm. The 
shore of Sicily for many leagues was covered with the frag- 
ments of ships and the bodies of the dead. 



BOICX, QBBBOm, AHD OABTHAOB. 89 

The CarthaginiaDs, enoouraged by this great disaster 
wMoh had befalleQ their foes, Bent an efficient general, Haa- 
dmbal, with an armjtand one hundred and fbrty elephants to 
drive the Romans from those portions of Sicily of which thej 
had taken possession. But Roman energy was invigorated, 
not paralyzed, by adversity. In three months a fleet of three 
hondred and twenty ships was fitted for sea, crossed the 
straits to the Sicilian shore, ravaged a large extent of country, 
extorting enormous ransom from their wealthy captives, and 
selling thirteen thousand prisoners, of the poorer dass, as 
slaves. They then crossed the sea again to the African shore, 
and after loading their ships to their utmost capacity with 
plunder, commenced their return. But again they were 
overtaken by a storm, and one hundred and twenty of their 
ships were wrecked. 

The Romans and Carthaginians now continued the strug* 
gle for two years, with ever varying success, on the plains of 
Sicily. About the middle of the third summer, the Romans 
obtained a signal victory, which placed the whole of the 
island of Sicily, with the exception of one town, SUybieum, 
in their hands. The Carthaginians, disheartened, sent an 
embassy to Rome with terms of peace, and their illustriooa 
prisoner, the Roman general Regulus, was sent, it is said, 
with this embassy, first exacting from him the promise that 
he would return to Carthage, surrendering himself again to 
captivity should the negotiation &dl. It was hoped that out 
of regard to his own safety he would urge the acceptance of 
the terms. 

But Regulus, with heroism characteristic of his race, will- 
faig to sacrifice the short remainder of his life, he being aged 
and infirm, for the glory of his country, dissuaded the senate 
from making peace. He was present at the discussion, and 
vehemently urged that the question of his life should not be at 
all considered, while deliberating respecting the glory and 
power of Rome; and that the best interests of Rome required 



90 ITALY. 

that the Roman I^ons should spread triumphantly OTer the 
domains of Carthage. Seeing that the senate, influenced by 
the cruel death to which he would be subjected on his return 
to Carthage, still hesitated, he pretended that a slow poison 
had been administered to him, which would infallibly soon end 
!iis days. His arguments were effectual, and the treaty was 
rejected. Regulus tore himself from the embraces of his weep- 
ing friends and returned to Carthage, where he was put to 
death with the most dreadfrd tortures. 

Such is the story of Regulus, which has, perhaps, obtained 
more renown than any other incident in ancient Roman his- 
tory. It develops a trial of character so honorable to human 
nature, though, like pure gold embedded in quartz, it is sur- 
rounded with much alloy, that we could earnestly wish it to 
be true. But historical research does not confirm it. It is not 
alluded to by Polybius, the most ancient and trustworthy 
writer in those times ; and there is much reason to suppose 
that it is pure fiction, invented by some eulogist to shed re- 
nown upon the illustrious consul and general, Regulus, who 
certainly perished in captivity in Carthage. 

It was the great ambition of Rome to annex the island of 
Sicily to her domain. The next year, 250 b. c, another im- 
mense army was raised to drive the Carthaginians from Lily- 
bseum, where they were strongly fortified. For two or three 
years the war raged with all of war's possible ftiry. There 
were sea-fights and land-fights, shipwrecks, gory battle-fields, 
defeats, victories, conflagrations, and miseries which no tongue 
can tell. At length, as the awfiil tragedy was progressing, 
there arose a Carthaginian general of extraordinary abihty 
named Hamilcar. This illustrious man, father of the world- 
renowned Hannibal, was then thirty years of age. An extra- 
ordinary storm of disasters fell upon the Romans. Their 
armies were defeated, their camp burned up, their fleeta 
wrecked. The Carthaginians, becoming thus supreme masters 
of the sea, besieged the Romans in thdr garrisons, and even 



BOMS, aB990B, AND OABTHAGB. M 

knded on the coast of Italy, and in ravaging the Roman townSi 
bitterly avenged the losses they had endured on their own 



Hamilcar, with great military genius, thwarted all the 
plans of the Roman generals, cut off their supplies, and whfle 
avoiding any general action, crippled all their movements. A 
single anecdote may be related to illustrate his noble chanuv 
ter. After a severe action, in which Hamilcar was defeated 
and many of his men slain, he sent to the conqueror asking a 
truce, that he might bury his dead. The Roman consul 
haughtily replied that Hamilcar had better devote his atten* 
tion to the living than to trouble himself about the dead. A 
short time after, in another conflict, Hamilcar was victoriousi 
and many Romans fell. Hamilcar was now solicited for a 
truce, that the Roman dead might be buried. Scorning the 
vulgar spirit of retaliation, he replied that most willingly he 
oonsented, since he carried on war, not against the dead, but 
against the living only. 

Rome was now convinced that Sicily could be conquered 
only by the most energetic efforts, and consequently the re- 
sources of the state were strained to the utmost in constructing 
a fleet of three hundred ships. With this vast squadron ad« 
mirably manned, they attacked the Carthaginian fleet, ^p« 
tured sixty-three, sunk one hundred and twenty, and disp» /sed 
the rest. In this conflict fourteen thousand Garthagi^iians 
were slain, and thirty-two thousand taken prisoners. This 
victory placed the Romans so decisively in the ascendency that 
the Carthaginians sued for peace. Hamilcar with anguish 
yielded to the humiliating terms which Rome exacted. Sicily 
was surrendered to Rome. All the Roman prisoners were 
given up without ransom, and an immense sum of money was 
exacted from Carthage to pay the expenses of the war which 
Rome had commenced. 

Thus terminated what is called the flrst Punic war. The 
1 on both sides, in both blood and treasure, were enor* 



iS ITALY. 

mons. The simple transference of the island of SicSty from the 
government of Carthage to that of Rome, cost Rome seven 
hundred ships of war, and Carthage five hmidred. It is esti- 
mated that in this long struggle five hundred thousand men 
perished by sword, shipwreck, and pestilence. Carthage was 
humiliated, not crushed, and the Carthaginians burned with 
desires for vengeance. Rome, elated, was fiir from satisfied 
with this vast addition to her domain, and was only stimulated 
with still more intense desires for conquest. There was ooi^ 
tinuaUy developed between these two great republics an in- 
stinctivr hostility, which rendered it inevitable that confilictfl 
would be incessantly renewed, until the one or the other Bhoald 
wholly perish. 



CHAPTER Y. 

THB PASSAGE OF THB ALPS BY HANKIBAjU 

Fbox 241 & a to 917 b. a 

IRTJAOH or Spain bt OAarajLQm.^WAM Rmttmwun brwuk Bom akv OABnA«&P* 
Vbw Qajtusb iKTAaioK.— AKiriBnjkTxoir or tbb Oavluh Abmt.— OoirQinaT «v 

GMAiran OAVk-^HARMIBAI. OBO«Bi THB BBOBB.— PaSBAOB OV THB AtPB.— Ib- 
TAUOH OP Ita.lt.— BaTTUB OH THB TlOINO AHO THB Po. — DnOOHPITITBS OP TBI 

BoHAMS.— Babhibal bntbbs Tuboabt.^Obbat Battlb op Thbabtmbhbl— Ahhi* 

HILAnOB op THB BOMAB AbMT.— OOMJOMOBATBD BT BTBOB 

A FTER the close of the first Punic war there was peace 
-^ with Carthage for twenty-two years. Rome was now 
undisputed mistress of the Italian peninsula, and of the island 
of Sidly. The early years of this period of peace were devote 
ed to internal improvements. The island of Sardinia, which 
had for some time been in possession of Carthage, was in 
a state of revolt against that government. The insurgents 
entreated Rome to espouse their cause. She did so, and, 
hunting up some fknded grievances, declared war against 
Carthage. Hamilcar, not yet prepared to renew the strife, 
purchased peace by the surrender of Sardinia to Rome. 

Hamilcar was at this time gathering his forces for a war- 
like expedition against Spain. In view of the enterprise 
solenm sacrifices were offered to propitiate the gods. As 
Hamilcar was performing these rights of superstition, he sud- 
denly requested all the attendant officers to retire, and calling 
his little son Hannibal to his side, a boy then nine years of 
age, led him up to the altar, and offered to take him to Spain 
if he would give his solenm vow never, so long as he lived, to 
make peace with the Romans. Hannibal eagerly placed his 
hand upon the sacrifice and took the oath. Faithfully he 



M ITALT 

redeemed his pledge. This scene prodnced an impresaon ok 
the child's mind which was never effaced, and which nerved 
him to miswerving purpose and to energy of action which has 
won the admiration of the world. 

The Romans watched this embassy to Spain with mndi 
oneasiness, fearful that the success of the Carthaginians might 
80 strengthen them as to disturb their own snprenuu^. The 
remonstrances of Home were so persistent and menacing, tha 
at length llanno, one of the Carthaginian ambassadors, ex- 
claimed to the Roman senate impatiently and boldly : 

^^ If you will not make peace with ns, thesk ghre us bade 
Sardinia and Sicily ; for we yielded them to yon, not to pur- 
chase a brief truce, but your lasting friendship." 

Rather reluctantly Rome consented to the ratificatian of 
amity with Carthage. Still they kept their armies disciplined 
by sending them on military expeditions to Sardinia, to Corsi- 
oa, and to Cisalpine GrauL Hany of these semi-barbaric people 
were taken captive and transported to Italy, where they were 
sold as slaves Twelve years after the aid of the first Pmiio 
war, the Romans sent a body of troops across the Icmian gulf 
to lUyria, as the western coast of Greece was then called. 
This expedition consisted of r consular army of tw^ity-two 
thousand men, conveyed by a fleet of two hundred q[ainque- 
remes. They landed almost unopposed, and sweeping all 
opposition before them, ravaged the country at their pleasore. 
The lUyrians were soon subjugated and their comitry placed 
under the rule of Demetrius, a Greek, appointed by the Ro- 
mans. 

Hamilcar, the renowned general of Carthage, was now 
sweeping Spain with his victorious armies, and had abeady 
reached the Tagus, when he was slain in battle, and was sao- 
ceeded by his son-iu-iaw HasdrubaL This distinguished : 
alike skilled in the arts of war and of p^ace, devoted his < 
gies to the consolidation of his conquests, and to winning the 
&i«idship of the Spaniards^ He was a man of cooimanffiiiff 



TH9 PABBAG9 OV THS ALPS BT HAKNIBAL. M 

Btatnre, and of very courteous bearing, and was eminently 
fitted to obtain an ascendency over barbaric minds. In his 
efforts he was signally successful, and many of the native 
Spanish princes crowded around him seeking his alliance. 

The Romans, with an anxious eye, watched the progress 
of his conquests, and the vast increase of his power ; but just 
then Rome was threatened with a Gaulish invasion, and the 
senate deemed it not prudent to provoke the Cartha^ians to 
unite with the Gauls. In the early spring of the year 226 b. a 
the Transalpine Gauls crossed the Alps, and uniting with 
thdr brethren, the Cisalpine Gauls, conmienced their march 
for the invasion of Italy. They advanced in such strength 
that Rome was thoroughly aroused, and the most vigorous 
measures of resistance were adopted. A careful list was made 
of every individual capable of bearing arms throughout the 
Roman states. Active armies and armies of reserve were 
organized. Immense magazines of provisions and military 
stores were collected, and the codperation of allies was secured 
to assail the foe on the flanks and in the rear. The Cenoma* 
nians and Venetians, who occupied the region now called 
Venice and much of Lombardy, presented such a menacing 
attitude to the Gauls, that they were compelled to leave a 
large portion of their force to protect their own territory. 
Still they commenced their march with an invading army of 
fifty thousand foot, and twenty thousand war chariots. 

There were two roads leading from Cisalpine G^ul to the 
heart of Italy. Both of these roads the Romans barricaded, 
one with an army of Romans and allies amounting to about 
mxty thousand men, and the other by an army of fifty-four 
thousand ; while Rome itself was protected by a reserve force 
of over fifty thousand troops. The whole available military 
force of the Roman republic, should it be found necessary to 
resort to a levy en mctsse^ amounted at that time to seven 
hundred and fifty thousand men. 

With music and banners the warlike Gktuls, sanguine of 



M ITALT. 

81100668, pressed along thdr marcli, and avoiding the tW9 
roads which the Romans had so oarefnllj guarded, tressed 
the defiles of the Apennines, pouring through those solitudes, 
Hke torrents, mto the yallej of the Amo. Unopposed, they 
pressed along the banks of this sunny stream, and then, tum- 
faig to the right, entered the heart of Etruria. They had thus 
skillfully eluded two Roman armies, fearlessly leaiving them in 
their rear. 

As soon as informed of this, both of these armies, in greal 
alarm, conmienced pursuit of the foe, who were rushing upon 
Rome. One of these armies, consisting of fifty thousand men, 
under a Roman pretor, soon overtook the invaders. The 
Ghiuls turned upon them like wolves at bay, and, in a short 
oonfliot, routed them entirely. For a few hours they delayed 
pursuit, to plunder the Roman camp, and then, encumbered 
with booty, commenced chasing the fugitives. After the 
march of a few leagues they found that the routed troops had 
ralhed behiad the solid colimms of the other Roman army, 
now consisting of sixty-seven thousand men, under the oon^ 
mand of the consul, L. EmiHus. 

The Gauls, enriched with immeose plunder, thought it not 
expedient to hazard another battle, but determined to carry 
their prisoners and their booty to their own country; and 
then, having increased and recruited their battalions, to com* 
mence their march anew. As the Roman armies were b^ 
tween them and the Apennines, cutting off their retreat 
through the defiles of the mountains, they turned short to 
the left, and followed down the banks of a little stream called 
the Ombrone, to the shores of the sea. They then vigorously 
commenced their march homeward, over apparently an unob* 
structed path. But soon a new foe rose like an apparition 
before them — ^a foe as much astonished to see the Qauls m 
the Gauls were to see them. 

One of the consuls, 0. Regulus, had been on an expeditioOi 
with a large army, to Sardinia. He was now, in conseqnenoa 



THB PABSAGB OF THB ALPS BT HANHIBAL.fY 

of the State of affidrs at home, returning with his army. He 
had landed his tro<^ at Pisa, to be ready to cooperate with 
the Roman forces in that region if necessary ; but his services 
not being required, he was marching as rapidly as possible 
along the shore of the sea toward Rome. Thus unexpectedly 
the Gaols and the Romans came upon each other like two 
railroad trains in accidental collision. 

There was nothing to do, of course, but to fight, retreat 
being out of the question for either of the parties. The battle 
had hardly begun when the Oauls were appalled by the 
clangor of Roman trumpets and the waving of Roman bai^ 
ners in their rear. It was the army of the enemy in eager 
pursnit. Th^ were now between two armies. The massacre 
was' soon finished, and the whole Gaulish host passed away in 
a wail of death. One of the Roman consuls, O. Regulus, was 
dnn. But the other, L. Emilius, led his triumphant troops 
across the frontier into Gaul, and, with the savage license of 
war, killed, plundered, and destroyed in all directions. He 
then returned to Rome, where a magnificent triumph awaited 
him. The temple of the capitoline Jupiter was most richly 
ornamented with the treasures won in this campaign. 

The Romans now determined upon the entire subjugation 
of Cisalpine Gaul; and for three years all their energies were 
devoted to the attahmient of this end. Barbarians are not 
easily subdued, as we have often learned to our cost in our 
conflicts with the American Indians. But tribe after tribe 
was snl^jugated, and province after province was annexed. 
During all tiiese wars and accessions the conflict was still con- 
tinued between the patridans and plebeians. The aristocracy 
were ever urging measures to add to the dignity and the 
exdufiiveness of the proprietors of the soil ; while the people 
were watching with an eagle eye to curb the power of the 
nobles. At this time the celebrated military road, called the 
Waminian Way, was constructed from Rome through the 
defiles of the Apennines, to the shores of the Adriatic Fhai- 

6 



m ITALY. 

inius, the censor, who constracted this road, administered 
the government w.th an impartial hand, opposing alike the 
assumptions of the aristocracy and the exactions of the 
populace. 

The Carthaginians were stUl pressing the war in Spain, 
when Hasdrubal was assassinated in his tent ; and the voice 
of the army, echoed back by the equally unanimous voice of 
Carthage, called Hannibal to the supreme power. With great 
energy the young general took the command, and in two 
campaigns made such rapid strides, that the Spaniards, in 
their alarm, sent to Rome for help. The Romans very gladly 
listened to their call, and sent an ambassador to Carthage, 
forbidding the Carthaginians to advance any ^rther in the 
conquest of Spain. 

" Twice in history," says Thomas Arnold, " has there been 
witnessed the struggle of the highest individual genius against 
the resources and institutions of a great nation^ and in both 
cases the' nation has been victorious. For seventeen years 
Hannibal strove against Rome; for sixteen years Napoleon 
Bonaparte strove against England. The efforts of the first 
ended in Zama; those of the second in Waterloo." 

Hannibal now rises upon the theater of action as the great 
genius of the tunes; and for some years all the prominent 
interests of the world seem to revolve about his person. 
Hannibal was but twenty-six years of age when, upon the 
death of Hasdrubal, he took command of the Carthaginian 
army in Spain. On the eastern coast of the Spanish peninsula, 
near the Mediterranean shore, stood the important city of 
Saguntum. The unimportant town of Murviedro, about sixt^ 
miles noi*th from Valencia, now occupies the spot upon which 
Saguntum once stood. Hannibal, defiant of the frowns of 
Rome, laid siege to this city, and after a conflict mght months 
in continuance, took it by storm. A large number of prison- 
ers and an immense amount of booty fell into the hands of tbt 
eonqueror. 



VBB PAB8AOB OF THB ALPS BT HANNIBAL, ft 

As soon as Rome heard of the fall of Sagnntom, two am* 
bassadors were despatched to Carthage with a message of in- 
dignation, and to demand that Hannibal and all his generak 
should be given np to l^ome, declaring that the attack upon 
Saguntum was a breach of the treaty of peace. The Garths^ 
ginians denied that the attack upon Saguntum was a violation 
of the treaty with Rome. But the Roman ambassadors, eager 
for war, were not in a mood to listen to reason. One of them, 
M. Fabius, rolling up his toga, held it out and insultingly 
said: 

^ Behold, here are peace and war ; take which you please.** 

The Carthaginian judge, unintimidated, replied, ^^Give 
whidiever thou wilt." 

'^Here, then,'' said Fabius, shaking out the folds of his 
toga, "we give you war." Tlie Carthaginian counselors, 
roused by this defiance, shouted with one voice, " With afl 
our hearts we welcome it." 

The Roman ambassadors immediately left Carthage, and 
both parties prepared for war. 

The energy of Hannibal was such, and the wisdom of his 
measnres was so muiifest, that, by general assent, rather than 
by any vote, the whole management of affairs was left in his 
hands. A large part of Spain had been conquered by the 
Carthaginians and Hannibal sent Spanish troops to garrison 
the fortresses of Carthage, and all the Cartha^ian troops 
whidi could be raised were despatched across the sea to Spain. 
Ambassadors were sent to Gaul to explore the passes of the 
Alps, and to secure the co5peration of that warlike people in 
Hannibal's contemplated descent upon the plains of Italy. 

With wonderftil energy and promptness all these measures 
were prosecuted. The envoys to Gaul soon returned with the 
report that the Gauls were eager to unite with Carthage against 
Rome, and that though the natural difficulties of the passagu 
of the Alps were great, they were by no means insuperal^ 
Hannibal assembled his troops and thus addressed them: 

5877V 4 



100 IT ALT. 

** The Romans have demanded that I and my principal ofl- 
eers should be delivered up to them as malefactors. Soldiers, 
will you suffer such an indignity ? The Gauls are holding out 
their arms to us, inviting us to come to them, and to assist 
them in avenging their manifold injuries. The country which 
we shall invade, so rich in com, and wine, and oil, so full of 
flocks and herds, so covered with flourishing cities, will be the 
richest prize that could be offered by the gods to reward your 
valor." 

This speech was greeted by the huzzas of the soldiers, and 
with shouts of enthusiasm they heard the day designated when 
they were to commence their march. For eighteen years 
Hannibal had been longing for this event. The memory of the 
oath he had taken to his father to wage eternal warfare against 
Rome ever inspired him. Like all truly great men, Hannibal 
had high conceptions of a Supreme Being who controlled 
human events ; and his flrst impulse was to seek that divine 
aid in his great enterprise. Accompanied by his staff, he went 
to one of the temples of tHie supreme Ood, offered sacrifices 
and fervently implored the assistance of Heaven. 

It was now late in May, and Hannibal, leaving his younger 
brother Hasdrubal in command of the conquered provinces in 
Spain, placed himself at the head of his army of one hundred 
thousand men, with thirty-seven elephants, and commenced his 
march along the shores of the Mediterranean, toward the 
Pyrenees. Hannibal was now twenty-seven years of age, and 
he consecrated huns^^If to the enterprise before him with an 
entireness of devotion and a recklessness of self-sacrifice which 
the world has, perhaps, never seen surpassed, and has rarely 
seen equaled. 

It was now the 218th year before the birth of Christ. 
Cornelius Scipio and Sempronius Longus were Roman consuls. 
Scipio took a large army and sailed with a fleet of transports 
and fifty quinqueremes for the Rhone, that he might make a 
•tand upon the eastern bank of that broad, deep, rapid stream, 



THB PA88AGB OF TBB AI.P8 BT HANNIBAL. Ml 

wci prevent the passage of tiie Carthaginian armj. LoDgu% 
with a still larger fleet, convoyed by one hundred and sixty 
qninqueremes, sailed for SicUy, intending thence to pass over 
into Africa, and carry the war to the walls of Carthage. A 
third Roman army was also raised and stationed in Cisalpine 
Gaul, to be ready for any emwgencies. This army was placed 
under the command of the pretor Lucius ManMus Ynlso. 

Hannibal crossed the £bro, then called the Iberas, unop 
posed. This stream had been considered the boundary between 
the Carthaginian and Roman conquests. As some of the 
tribes between the Ebro and the Pyrenees, a distance of about 
one hundred and fifty miles, remuned friendly to the Romans, 
Hannibal thought it prudent to take military possession of the 
whole region, that his line of communication might not be in* 
terrupted. Thin caused dday, several battles, and a heavy loss 
of men. 

When he arrived at the Pyrenees and entered those gloomy 
d^es, to march through them apparently to the ends of the 
earth, many of the soldiers were alarmed and began to mnr* 
mur. One division of the army, consisting of ten thousand 
men, refused to advance. Hannibal, with the tact of a con* 
sommate general, assembled them in the presence of his whole 
army and saying that he wished for no cowards to accompany 
him on his expedition, dismissed them ignominiously, and sent 
them back to their homes. This act redoubled the ardor of 
those who remained. 

The Carthaginian army, now amounting to but fifty thoit- 
sand foot and nine thousand horse, successfiilly threaded the 
defiles of the Pyrenees, and emerged upon the plains of south 
em France, then called Gaul. Marching along the shores of 
tlie gulf of Lyons for two hundred miles, and encountering no 
opposition from the tribes through whom he passed Hannibal 
reached the Rhone, near the present small village of Roqxie- 
moure, about twenty miles above the city of Avignon. The 
river was here abont a quarter ot a mHe in width, glidii^ 



108 ITALY 

dirough one of the most beautifol, pictnreBqne, %nd delightfit 
regions on the globe. There were no bridges, and the bankfl 
of the barbaric stream were covered with forests. The spears 
and banners of a hostile host were seen upon the eastern shore, 
giving indubitable evidence that the passage of the stream was 
not to be accomplished without a conflict. Scipio had just 
landed his force at the mouth of the eastern branch of the 
river, and having no idea that Hannibal could have advanced 
80 far, had leisurely encamped, and was recruiting his troops 
sixty miles below the spot where the Carthaginians were pre- 
paring to cross the stream. He, however, sent out a recon- 
noitering party of three hundred horsemen to ascend the river, 
to learn what they could respecting the movements of the 
enemy. 

Hannibal immediately seized or purchased every boat 
which could be found on the western bank of the Rhone, and 
employed all the mechanical force of his army in cuttmg down 
timber, digging out canoes, and constructing rafts. The foe, 
upon the opposite bank, with no weapons but arrows and 
javelins, could not obstruct his works. In two days he was 
prepared to attempt the passage. By night he secretly dis- 
patched a small but very efficient force up the river twenty 
miles, there to cross, and then to march noiselessly down 
through the forest on the opposite shore, and take a position, 
to be ready to attack the foe in the rear. As soon as they 
were in position they were to build a fire, the smoke of which 
would be a signal to Hannibal. 

The movement proved an entire success, and soon a 
oolunm of smoke, rising through the distant forest, informed 
Hannibal of the arrival of his detachment; and all things 
boing in readiness, the army was instantly put in motion. 
The Gauls, eagerly watching, lined the banks, quite confident 
of being able to repel their assailants. As the boats and rafts 
aeared the eastern shore, and the tempest of war was at its 
height, the air being filled with arrows and javelins, and the 



TBS PASSAOB OV TBI AKPS BT BANNIBAL. 109 

ery of battle resonndiog along the river banks, the Carthagi 
man soldiers, with hideous yells, rushed from their ambush, 
and assailed the Gauls in the rear. For a few moments there 
was a scene of awful confusion, and then the Gauls, bewil- 
dered and in dismay, broke and fled. The rout was entire, 
and before the next morning the whole army of Hannibal, 
elephants and all, were encamped on the eastern bank of the 
Rhone. Just at this time a delegation of the Cisalpine Gaul6, 
that is the Gauls from the Roman side of the Alps, arrived in 
the Carthaginian camp, to welcome their allies, and to proffer 
•id. 

The arrival of this embassage encouraged the soldiers 
ttceedingly, as it proved that the passage of the Alps was 
practicable, and that they would meet friends upon the Italian 
nde. Hannibal gatliered his army around him, and after 
addressing them in cheering words, to which his troops 
responded with most enthusiastic cheers, he offered sacrifices 
to God, returning thanks for the prosperity which had thus 
fiu* been vouched him, and imploring the continuance of divine 
&vor. 

In the mean time Sdpio^s scouts had fallen in with a small 
party of the Carthaginians, and a skirmish, sanguinary though 
indedsive, had ensued. Hannibal, paying no attention to the 
foe at the mouth of the river, immediately put his army in 
vigorous motion, advancing north up the eastern bank of the 
Rhone. Scipio, also, learning from his reconnoitering party 
the position of the Carthaginians, commenced a pursuit, fol- 
lowing up also the left side of the river. When he arrived at 
the spot where the Carthaginians had crossed, he found it 
deserted, Hannibal having been already gone three days. It 
was in vain to follow a foe so alert. Scipio, therefore, decided 
to return as rapidly as possible to Italy ; his route, by water, 
bemg the chord of a cirde, of which Hannibal was necessi 
tated to traverse by land in long circuit, the arc He accord- 
Bigly retraced his steps to the mouth of the Rhone, and^ 



104 IT ALT. 

refimbarking, sailed for Pida, having sent a part of his foree 
to attack Hasdrubal in Spain. It was his intention to meet 
Hannibal, when, exhausted with a long march, he should be 
descending the eastern declivities of the Alps. 

The Carthaginians pressed rapidly forward, and in four 
days reached the mouth of the Isere, as it empties itself into 
the Rhone, about one hundred and fifty miles above the 
mouth of the latter river. The Isere, a majestic stream, fed 
by the inexhaustible glaciers of the Alps, enters the Rh<Hi8 
with a flood almost equal to that of the stream with which its 
waters mingle, and in which they lose their name. Following 
up the valley of the Isere, the Carthaginians marched north- 
east, directly toward the mountains. At this point the wild 
Gaulish tribes of what was called the Transalpine region, 
began to manifest hostility. They fortified the passes, and 
laid ambuscades ; but Hannibal, with great energy and sags^ 
city, baffled all their plans, and won his way through incefr> 
sant battles. Among the gloomy defiles there were many 
awful scenes of confusion said carnage, ike barbarians hurling 
rocks and stones from the cMs, and fighting with the utmost 
desperation; but Cuthaginian disdipline and courage were 
invariably victorious. 

In a march of nine days Hannibal led his army, from th« 
plains of Dauphine through the ascending defiles, to the suish 
mit of the central ridge of the Alps. It was near the end of 
October. The gorge through which he was passing, elevated 
many thousand feet above the level of the river, presented b«t 
one wide waste of barrenness and ice, while mountain peaks 
towered above them, glittering in eternal snow, or black ni 
their rocky precipices and crags, swept by the storms o£ 
ancounted centuries. Exhausted by the toil of the asc^ati 
the soldiers rested for two days in these wilds, until the stra^^ 
glers could gain the encampment. A general feeling ji we 
Bess and discouragement pervaded the army. Hannibal i 



rum PASBAax of thx-alps bt hakhibal. 105 

was firm. Assembling his soldiers, be pointed them to a 
distant desc^iding valley, and said : 

" That valley is Italy. It leads us to the conntry of our 
firiendsythe Gaols, and is oar direct route to Rome." 

After two days' rest the army commenced the descent of 
the mountains on the Italian side. To their surprise they 
found the perils and difficulties of the descent greater than 
those of the ascent. The gorges were blocked up with snow. 
Fearftd chasms were bridged over with the treacherous cover* 
ings of ice, and men and horses fell into &thomless gulfs. 
Avalanches had in places so swept the path, that all the skill 
of the Cartha^nian engineers was requisite to render it pos- 
fflble for the army to advance. The elephants suffered terribly 
from cold and hunger, and from the rugged travel so foreign 
to their natures. Nearly all of these animals perished by the 
way. It was by the pass now called the Little Saint Bernard, 
that Hannibal surmounted the Alps, and descended into the 
valley of the Aosta. Fifteen days were consumed in the 
passage of the mountains, and five months had now elapsed 
since he commenced his march from Spain. By sickness, 
casualties, and battle, his army had now dwindled to twenty 
thousand foot and six thousand horse. Thirty-three thousand 
men had perished on this march. 

But the Carthaginians had now entered into fertile valleys 
where flowers regaled the eye and fruits were abundant, and 
where they were received by the Cisalpine Gauls with hospi 
tality as friends and allies. In the mean time Scipio had 
landed at Pisa, and crossing the Po at Placenta, had taken 
command of the pretor's army on the Ticino, near Pavia, and 
was marching forward to meet Hannibal, by slowly ascending 
the left bank of the Po. It was weU known by both parties 
that the barbarian Gauls would join whichever army was vio 
torious ; for love of the €poUs is by no means a modem inven- 
tion. Hannibal had followed doWn the valley of the Aosta 
and the Dora Baltea to the Po, and was descending that 

6* 



106 ITAtT. 

Btream also by the left bank. A eoUidon Tras, of course, in- 
evitable, and both parties were pushing^ forward light troops 
for reeonnoitering. 

The two armies soon met in fierce battle. The Romans 
were routed, the consul, Scipio, severely wounded, and the 
army was saved from destruction only by a precipitate retreat. 
In their flight they crossed the Ticino, and so great was their 
hurry and confhsion that they broke down the bridge, to arrest 
pursuit, leaving six hundred men tlius cut off, who fell into the 
hands of the enemy. The discomfited Romans did not stop 
in their flight until they found refuge behind the walls of 
Hacentia. 

Hannibal now crossed the Po in boats, and descended un* 
opposed the right bank of the stream. Two days' march 
brought him again in sight of the enemy at Placentia. As 
they declined his offer of battle, he took an important position 
and entrenched himself east of Placentia, cutting off the line 
of retreat and communications with Rome. Scipio, finding his 
road to Rome thus blocked up, abandoned Placentia, and 
marching directly westward, crossed the Trebbia, and strongly 
entrenching himself, soon gathered reftnibrcements, so that his 
army amounted to forty thousand men; Hannibal also ob- 
tained recruits from the Gauls, and with a force equal to that 
of the Romans, goaded them to battle. The emergence had 
recalled the consul Sempronius, who took command of the 
army, as his colleague Scipio was still suffering from his 
wounds. 

It was now mid-winter. The Trebbia, which in summer is 
but a shallow and insignificant stream, was swollen by rain 
and melting snows. The Romans were on the left bank of the 
Trebbia, tha Carthaginians on the right. The morning dawned 
lowering with clouds, and wind and snow mingled with rain 
swept the valley, when Sempronius, lured by a stratagem of 
Hannibal, led his troops across a ford of the river where ttie 
water was breast high, and made a fierce attack up<7n die lines 



THB PAS8AOB OF THB ALPS BT HANNIBAL. 107 

of the Carthaginians. He was so desirous of taking Hannibal 
by surprise that he led his soldiers to the assault in the early 
morning before they had taken any breakfast. Hungry and 
chilled by fording the icy river, they were but poorly prepared 
to meet the soldiers of Hannibal, who, anticipating the attack, 
which they by stratagem had enticed, had eaten their break- 
&st8 in their tents, and had oiled their bodies and put on then 
armor quietly around their camp-fires. 

The battle was long and bloody ; but again Hannibal wa* 
Tictorious, and as the sun went down the Roman army wa» 
almost annihilated. A few had cut their way through th< 
fines of the Carthaginians and had taken refuge in Placentiai 
A few others, exhausted and bleeding, plunged into the waves 
of the Trebbia, and escaped to the opposite shore, where the 
Carthaginians did not pursue them. This battle left Hannibal 
master of Cisalpine Gaul, and thus terminated his first cam- 
paign in Italy. The winds of winter now swept so fiercely 
over the ridges of the mountains that it was impossible any 
longer to keep the field, and Hannibal accordingly went into 
winter quarters. 

The alarm at Rome was great, and the remidnder of the 
winter was spent by both parties in vigorous preparation for 
the opening of the campaign in the spring. At the earliest 
practicable moment Hannibal was again upon the march. 
Crossing the Apennines by the valley of the Serohio, with ap- 
parent recklessness he left a powerful Roman army behind 
him at Arretium, and entered the plsuns of Italy. Two new 
eonsuls had now been elected, Flaminius and Oeminus. The 
former had been placed in command of the army raised to 
arrest the march of Hannibal, while Geminus remained in the 
vicinity of Rome to enlist and forward new levies. 

Flaminius, while quietly encamped at Arretium, learned to 
his astonishment that Hannibal had crossed the Apennines, and 
was marching triumphantly through Tuscany, then called 
Btruria. He immediately b^oke up his camp and pursued the 



108 ITA1.T, i> 

foe, sending in the mean time a messenger to inform his ool* 
league of the movements of the Carthagmians. Hannibal 
cruelly devastated the country on his march, while carefully 
watching his pursuers and looking for a &vorahle opportunity 
to lead them into an ambuscade. 

On the northeast comer of Lake Pemgia, then called Lalce 
Tlirasymene, near the present village of Passignano, there is a 
valley, entered from the north by a narrow defile, enclosed on 
all the remaining sides by the waters of the lake and by steep 
hills. Hannibal entered this defile and posted his troops xq 
ambuscade among the rocks and shrubs on the slopes of the 
hOls which bounded the valley. The Romans incautiously, ib 
eager pursuit, entered the trap just as the sun was going dowB. 
Hannibal had so thoroughly studied the ground that even in 
the darkness he could move his troops, and when the morning 
dawned Flaminius found himself surrounded by foes, who were 
posted in the most advantageous positions, and his retreat was 
entirely cut off. 

The battle was immediately commenoed with tremendous 
ftiry. A thick fog rose from the lake, which concealed from 
the Romans their foes. Hopeless of victory, they fought with 
the energies of despair, resolved to sell their lives as dearly ae 
possible. But they were overwhelmed. . A storm of arrows 
and javelins descended upon them as from the clouds. Pon- 
derous stones and rocks crushed whole companies with die 
resistless power of the avalanche. When the Romans were 
thus thrown into utter conftision, the terrible cavalry of Han- 
nibal emerged from the mist, while at the same moment the 
heavily armed Gauls came rushing down the hills, and in co- 
operation they fell upon the bewildered, broken battalions, and 
hewed them down with enormous slaughter. 

For a long time no quarter was granted. The whole 
Roman army, with the exception of about six thousand ftigi- 
tives wac either taken captive or destroyed. Flaminius Imn- 
eeif M, dirufit through by the lance of a Gaul. The awfid 



THB PA88AGB OF THB ALPS BT HAKNIBAL. 109 

deed of carnage was accomplished before the sun reached the 
meridian. It is related by Livy that the i\iry of the contest 
was such, that in the heat of the fight, a violent earthquake 
occurred, shaking the hills, rolling huge billows from the lake 
upon the shore, and destroying many cities; and yet this 
terrible phenomenon, shaking the earth, and whelming cities 
in the wave, was entirely imheeded by the combatants in the 
frenzy of the battle. 

Such was the sanguinary and decisive battle of Thra- 
lymene, which made Hannibal master of central Italy. Lor4 
Bynm, in Childe Harold, thus alludes to this event : 

** And Buch the storm of battle on thia day, 
And saoh the frenzj whose oonvukion blinds 
To all sare oarnage, that, beneath the fhiy. 
An earthquake reel'd unheedinglj away 1 
None felt stem nature rooking at his feet. 
And yawning forth a grave for those who lay 
Upon their bucklers for a winding sheet ; 
iBoh ia tlM abaorbing hate when warring natloM mm^ 



CHAPTER VI. 

ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS OF HANNIBAIk 

' FbOIC 217 B. 0. TO 208 B. 0. 

DlfASTATIKO MABOH OV HAinnBAL.^GOMPOSITION OV HIB AbMT.— TSBBOB IN BOMB.^ 
WiNTBB QUABTKBB IN APnLIA.^DlBaBnBIONB IN THB BOM AN AbMT^^ThB BAnLB 

01 Oannjl— Annihilation of thb Roman Abmt.— Inobbasing Pbbil or Han- 
nibal.— Bbtbbat FBOM TlTATA.— MaBOH ITPON BoMB.— SiBOB OF OaFUA SlATBBT 

or OApnYBS. — ^Thb Maboh op Hasdbitbal.— Pawaob of thb Alps.— Nbw Yioto- 
BiBB or Hannibal.— Dbath or Hasdbubal and Dbbtbuotion of bib Abut.— 
Thb Hbad or Hasdbubal.— Exultation in Bqmb.— Dbspaib or Hannibal, 

TTANNIBAL tarried for a short time in the defile of Thra- 
^ symene to bury his dead, and to take care of his wounded. 
He sought earnestly among the slain for the body of the 
Roman consul Flaminius, wishing to give it honorable burial ; 
but the body could not be found. Again resuming his march, 
he crossed the head waters of the Tiber, and entered the 
plains of XJmbria. Scattering his forces over this rich country 
he devastated it without mercy. The war-cry of the Gaulish 
barbarians, in alliance with the Carthaginians, echoed along 
the banks of the Tiber, and the terrified people, abandoning 
their homes, fled to the mountains. The army of Hannibal 
presented a singular conglomeration of diverse people. There 
wsre slingers from the Balearian islands, Spanish foot-soldiers 
from the mountains of Grenada, with their picturesque attire 
of white jackets and scarlet edgings, African infantry with 
their long and slender lances and polished shields, wild Nu- 
midians, on their scraggy horses, without saddles or bridles, 
scouring the plains with whoop and halloo ; and there were 
Gauls, barbaric and skin -clad, fierce as the wolves which 
howled in the caves of their forests. Advancing to Spolet49^ 



THX ITALIAN OAVPAIGNB OF HANNIBAL. Ill 

Bannibal fonnd the walls so high and so well guarded that he 
oonld not take the city by assault. Not wishing to lose time 
in a siege, he crossed the Apennines to the shores of the Adri- 
atic and followed along the coast, plundering the re^on of 
property of every desci-iption, and loading his army with 
more booty than they could bear along with them. Tlie 
soldiers reveled in sudi abundance of all good things, that it 
was reported that they even bathed their horses in old wine. 
Every Roman they met, capable of bearing arms, was by the 
cirder of Hannibal put to death. 

When the intelligence of the battle of Thrasymene, and 
of the advance of the Oarthsmnians reached Rome, the di» 
may was inexpressible. ^*Our cold^ temperaments,^' says 
Thomas Arnold, ^* scarcely enable us to conceive the effect <^ 
euch tidings on the lively feelings of the peoplo of the south, 
or to imagine to ourselves thd cries, the tears, the haacfai 
uplifted in prayer or clenched in rage, the confused sounds of 
ten thousand voices, giving utterance, with breathless rapidity, 
to their feelings of eager interest, of terror, of grief, or of 
fory. All the northern gates of the city were beset with 
crowds of wives and mo&ers, imploring every fresh fugitive 
from the fatal field fbr some tidings of those most dear to 
them." 

The senate was immediately called together and continued 
in sesfflon day and night for several days. No one thought of 
peace. A dictator, Q. Fabius, was promptly appointed. He 
was a member of one of the old aristocratic famifiet, and a 
very devout man, according to the Roman system of religicm. 
One of his first measures was to decree that every animal, fit 
for sacrifice, born between the fii'st of March and the tlur- 
(eenth of April of that yenr, should be offered upon the altars 
to Jupiter. Prayers resounded in all the temples, and new 
templett were reared. The whole population of Rome wae 
eonvened day after day to attend upon rdigious rites. 

At the same time the most vigorous measures 



lis ITALY. 

adopted for active warfare. The fortifications of Rome were 
Btrengthened. Bridges were broken down and roads des- 
troyed, to arrest the advance of the enemy. In the line of 
Hannibal's anticipated march, the inhabitants were ordered to 
flee to the walled towns, and the comitry was laid waste. 
These measures were quite effectual in retarding the march of 
Hannibal upon Rome. Fabius, wielding the energies of dic- 
tatorial authority, soon found himself at the head of an army 
more power^l in numbers than that of Hannibal ; but con- 
scious that his inexperienced troops could not cope with the 
veteran legions of the Carthaginians, he prudently avoided 
giving battle. Keeping ever at a distance of five or six miles 
firom Hannibal he encamped in strong positions, and watched 
the movements of his foe. 

The skillful measures of Fabius soon Involved Hannibal in 
many embarrassments. I nding himself hedged in by hills, 
whose defiles were guard d by the Romans, he ordered all 
his Roman prisoners, whoso presence endangered the safety 
of his army, in cold blood to be slain. Then, with character- 
istic cunning, he selected two thousand stout oxen, and bound 
firmly to their horns, with wire, fagots of dry wood, dipped 
in resin. Two hours before midnight these oxen were driven 
to the hills and the fagots set on fire. The animals, thus 
cruelly tortured, ran wild and bellowing in all directions. 
The leaves and branches of the forest were soon blazing; and 
the Romans, astonished by the tumult and the strange speota^ 
de, supposing that the Carthaginians were coming down fi*om 
the heights to attack them, incautiously left one of the passes 
unguarded, and Hannibal quietly marched through the defile 
to a place of safety. 

The sagacious warrior, leaving his shamed and baffled foes 
behind, strode onward, marking his path with devastation 
and ruin. The smnmer was now far advanced, and Hannibal 
had overrun a large portion of Italy. Still not a single walled 
city had as yet fallen into his hands. He had ravaged the 



¥HX ITALIAN OAVPAIOjrS OF HANNIBAL, lit 

^ams of Italy, bitt had by no means conqnered the RomanSt 
It was now necessary for him to retire to winter quarters. 
He accordingly returned, burdened with plunder, to his old 
encampment in Apulia. All Italy oould not. afford more 
{Aeafiant winter quarters than those which Hannibal selected 
upon the edge of a fertile plain, beneath the protection of a 
range of mountains. Before him were boundless fields waving 
with harvests, and behind him wide pastures upon the moun- 
tain sides, presenting rich forage for his horses, while sweep* 
ing forests afforded him an ample supply of wood. There 
was a small walled town in the vicinity of the proposed 
encampment. Hannibal took it, put all its inhabitants to the 
sword, and leaving the walls and houses standing, used the 
buildings as a great magazine for his army ; while the soldiers 
were quartered in an entrenched camp around the walls. 
Having made these arrangements, he kept one-third of his 
soldiers to defend the camp, while the remaining two-thirds 
were despatched in all directions to plunder the surrounding 
country. 

Loud outcries arose at Rome against the dictator Fabius ; 
but he, with imperturbable patience, pursued his measures 
agamst the formidable and sagacious foe. Following Han- 
nibal into Apulia, he encamped upon impregnable heights, 
and watched for opportunities to harass the Carthaginians, 
without exposing himself to the perils of a battle, for he was 
fully conscious that his inexperienced troops were not able 
to cope with the veteran warriors arrayed against them. 
IGnucius, master of the horse, was opposed to the cautious 
measures of Fabius, and was eager for a niore vigorous pros^ 
oution of the war. His cause was espoused by the eager 
popular party at Rome, while the more cautious aristocratic 
party rallied around Fabius. After violent contention a bill 
was carried, making the two generals, Fabius and Minucius, 
equal in command. The army was oonsequently divided 



114 ITALY. 

between them, and they encamped about a mile distant freni 
each other, each taking one half of the military force. 

Hannibal was quite elated with this evidence of want of 
eodperation, and eagerly availed himself of it. By a skillful 
stratagem he allured the self-confident Minucius into an 
engagement, and then falling upon him with five thousand 
troops, which had been placed in ambush, he would have cut 
his army entirely to pieces had not Fabius magnanimously 
some to his rescue. Minucius, vsith rare generosity, publicly 
acknowledged that Fabius had saved him from destruction, 
and relinquishing his separate command, placed himself and 
his division under the control of the more wary and sagacious 
dictator. 

In the mean time, at Rome, party politics ran high. 
There was a new election of consuls, and the plebeian party 
succeeded iu electing C. Terentius Varro, a very energetic, 
eloquent man, who had raised himself to distinction, from the 
humble condition of a butcher's boy. The aristocracy suc- 
ceeded in choosing one of the consuls of their own number, in 
the person of L. Emilius Paulus. The winter and the spring 
passed away with no military operations of importance. Sud- 
denly, late in the spring, Hannibal broke up his camp, and, 
descending into the Apulian plains, surprised and captured 
Cannae, the great magazine of the Roman army. 

All Italy was now exposed to be ravaged for another 
summer. The two new consuls having raised a large army, 
resolved to give battle. Each of the two consuls took the 
supreme command alternately every other day. After many 
weeks of marchings and counter-marchings, each army en 
deavoring to find a favorable field of battle, they at last me 
on the unobstructed plain of Cannae, near the mouth of the 
Aufidus, on the shores of the Adriatic. 

The Roman consuls led eighty-seven thousand troops upon 
this field, and their plumes of mingled red and black, a foot 
and a half high, lit up the vast expanse over which they 



THX ITALIAN CAMPAIGNS OF HANNIBAL. 116 

ipread like a waying forest. Hannibal led a veteran army of 
^j thousand men. The sun of a hot August day rose cloud- 
less over the plain when the battle b^^. When that sun 
went down the Roman army was annihilated. Over eighty 
thousand Romans lay dead upon the field, and among them 
were the gory bodies of the consul EmUius, the master of the 
horbe,Minucius, and eighty Roman senators. Three thousand 
men only, of the whole Roman aimy, escaped. 

On this bloody field Hannibal lost but six thousand men. 
Hannibal was greatly elated with his victory, and doubted not 
that Rome itself would now be compelled to bow before him. 
Thus fair his march had been resistless and desolating, like the 
flow of a lava flood down the sides of Vesuvius. When the 
tidings arrived in Rome of the utter destruction of the army 
the consternation was inexpressible. Within eighteen months 
one-fifth part of the whole male population of Rome over seven- 
teen years of age had been slain. Every house was literally in 
mourning. All eyes were again directed to Fabius, and every 
measure he proposed, though his legal dictatorship was at an 
end, was inmiediately adopted. 

The consul Yarro, at the head of seventy horsemen, had 
effected his escape from the field, and despatches were soon 
received at Rome from him, informing the senate that he had 
rallied the wrecks of the army at Canusium, and that Hannibal 
was not advancing upon the city. With much moral courage 
the defeated consul then hastened to Rome, and presenting 
himself before the senate, dissuaded from all thoughts of peace, 
and urged the desperate prosecution of the war to the last ex- 
tremity. Thus animated, a new dictator, M. Junius Pisa, waft 
chosen ; eight thousand slaves were enlisted ; all the criminals 
and debtors were released, upon condition of their taking up 
arms. Thus twenty-five thousand men were speedily raised, 
and at the head of this small force, Pisa marched to embarrass 
the movements of the foe. At the same time the old men and 



110 ITAI^Y. 

fihe boys in Rome were organized into military bands for the 
defense of the capital. 

Hannibal had now crossed the Apennines from the Adriatic 
shore, and was encamped upon the right bank of the Yoltor- 
nns, about twelve miles above Capua. This renowned city, 
then second only to Rome, had capitulated to the conqueror. 
The summer had now passed away, and Hannibal, gathering 
his army within and around the walls of Capua, went into 
winter quarters. The soldiers, fearing no assault and sur« 
rounded with abundance, surrendered themselves to luxurioofl 
indulgence. 

Notwithstanding Hannibal's victories, he had much cause 
for solicitude. Upon the field of CannaB he had lost six thou- 
sand of his best troops. He was far from home, and his army 
was daily growing weaker. He, therefore, found it very con- 
venient to remain behind the walls of Capua, while he sent to 
Carthage for reinforcements. With the opening of the spring 
active operations were renewed. Three Roman armies, amount- 
ing in all to sixty thousand men, were encamped on the banks 
of the Vultumus. Hannibal marched out of Capua and to<^ a 
strong position on the heights of Mount Tifata. During the 
winter Philip, king of Macedon, had entered into an aUianoe 
with Hannibal offensive and defensive. Sicily was now in open 
revolt against Rome. The whole summer, however, passed 
away without any decisive action, the two hostile armies 
watching each other and maneuvering, with occasional skir* 
mishes, to gain the advantage. Still on the whole the Romans 
were recruiting their energies, while Hannibal wan growii^ 
weaker. 

Through almost uninterrupted victory Hannifa&l's army, 
hi from home, was wasting away, while from every defeat, the 
Romans rose with recruited vigor. For many months the 
storm of battle raged around the walls of Capua, recruits being 
continually sent in to fill up the broken battalictts of the 
Romans. At length the Romans, with an army pf sixtv thou- 



THX ITALIAN CAMPAiaifS OF HANNIBAL. 119 

tukd men, snrroimded Oapoa, and in concentric lines threvr up 
Uieir entrenchments, so that the city was effectually blockade<L 
Hannibal was absent, ravaging the fields of soathem Italy, 
when ho heard of the danger of Capua and of the garrison he 
had left there. With characteristic energy he placed himself 
at the head of his cavalry, some regiments of light in&ntry, 
and thirty-three elephants, which had just been sent to him 
from Carthage, and descending like a whirlwind into the plain 
of Capua, commenced a fierce attack upon the Roman linef>. 
But the Romans, strongly entrenched, repelled all his assaults, 
and drove him back to the mountains. Hia peril was now 
great. The country all around had been converted into a 
desert, and the horses of Hannibal, which constituted the most 
effectual portion of his army, were perishing. Under these 
drcumstances he adopted the desperate resolve to march upon 
Rome. 

Leaving his camp-fires burning upon the ridges of the 
Tifitta, to deceive his foes, at midnight he commenced his 
march upon the eternal city. With hasty strides he advanced 
to the upper waters of the 'Hber, and then descending the left 
bank of the stream, encamped his hosts within four miles of 
Rome. Before his terrible march crowds of fugitives fled, 
seeking refuge behind the walls of the city, while in his rear 
his route was marked with lurid flames, blood, smoke, and 
ashes. The gleam of his spears and banners, as the awfiil ap- 
parition thus unexpectedly appeared before the walls of Rome, 
created the utmost consternation. The women fled in dismay 
to the temples, imploring the aid of the gods. Every man 
capable of bearing arms rushed to the walls. It so happened 
that just at this time a political festival had assembled within 
the walls of Rome ten thousand men from the cities and vil- 
lages around, and they eagerly united with the citizens to 
repel the assault. 

Hannibal, apprised of these vigorous measures of defense, 
deemed an attack hopeless ; but he was in one of the most in 



aI8 ITALY. 

▼itmg regions the world oonld present for plunder. For 
hundred and fifty years no enemy had approached the walls 
of Rome. This long period of peace had secured a dense 
population; cities and villages abounded, filled with all the 
creations of opulence, while the fields waved with harvests. 
Hannibal swept the country, accumulating vast stores of plun* 
der and unnumbered prisoners. It is said that at the head of 
a body of cavalry he rode up to the CoUine gate of the city 
and defiantly hurled a dart against it. 

For more than six years Hannibal had been ravaging the 
territory of the Romans, and he had slain more of the Ro- 
mans than were t^^i left living capable of bearing arms 
against him ; and now his troops were surrounding the walls 
of Rome itself, challenging the inhabitants to a conflict which 
they dared not accept. The Romans, who were besieging 
Capua, learning that Rome was in danger, hurriedly broke up 
their encampm^it and hastened to the defense of the capital 
Hannibal commenced a retreat, cautiously pursued by the 
Romans. Suddenly he turned upon his foe, in a midnight 
attack, and routed them with great slaughter. He then 
marched unobstructed through southern Italy, plundering and 
burning in all directions. 

Capua, thus abandoned, was soon starved into submission, 
and surrendered to the Romans. Their punishment for lend- 
ing compulsory assistance to the foe was as cruel as fiendlike 
malignity could devise. Many of the most illustrious men 
were sold into slavery ; many were mercilessly scourged and 
then beheaded ; and many were thrown into dungeons, where 
they were left to the lingering torments of starvation. 

The reconquest of Capua encouraged the Romans, and 
struck terror into the revolted provinces, which had allied 
themselves with the Carthaginians. The position of Hannibal 
was becoming daily more perilous, and the tide of fortune was 
manifestly turning against him. His hopes of rallying a coali- 
tion of the Italian states against Rome were at an end. BiM 



THX ITALIAN CAMPAiaNS OF HANNIBAL. 119 

stni he was at the head of a victorious army ; he had met his 
foes but to trample them beneath his feet ; and in a resistless 
march of hundreds of miles he had plundered and desolated 
the plains of Italy. He consequently doubted not that he 
oould hold his position as long as he pleased, supporting his 
army at the cost of his enemies. 

In the mean time the war between Rome and Carthage 
was raging in Spain, in Greece, and in Sicily, with varying 
success. There ia but little worthy of note in these scenes of 
savage cruelty and blood. The siege of Syracuse, in Sicily, 
has obtained a world-wide renown in consequence of the d^ 
fense organized and conducted by the genius of Archimedes. 
Marcellus, the Roman general, who had command of the fleet, 
attacked the city by water. Appius Claudius conducted the 
land attack, bringing his ships up to the sea-wall, and attempt- 
mg to scale the battlements by means of immense ladders, 
raised by ropes running through blocks attached to the masts. 

But Archimedes had armed the ramparts with enginery of 
such terrific power as to baffle all the efforts of the besiegers. 
A storm of stones, arrows, and javelins swept the decks of 
the ships as they approached. When the ladders were placed 
against the walls it was found that the walls were loopholed 
so that the men, as they attempted to ascend, were shot by 
an unseen enemy. Long poles were thrust out from the bat- 
tlements, dropping down from their ^gantic arms immense 
rocks and masses of lead, which fell with crushing violence 
upon the ships below. Enormous cranes were also thrust 
over the wall, with iron grapples affixed which seized hold of 
the stem or stem of the ship, and then by the application of 
in immense mechanical power, raised the end seized many 
feet, and then dropped it into the sea with violence, which 
either upset the ship or filled it with water. On the land side 
also, with equal vigor, the assault was repelled. Marcellus, at 
length, in despair relinquished the attempt to take the place 



IM ITALY. 

bj storm, and prepared, by a regular blockade, to fltsnre ont 
the garrison. 

In the haze of these distant ages we see fleets ineessanti j 
coming and going, and hear the smothered roar of battle, bat 
it B now quite impossible to give a chronological narrative of 
many of the events as they ensued. Polybius states that the 
blockade of Syracuse lasted eight months, and the city finally 
surrendered to the Roman arms, as is supposed, in the year 
213 B. c. Marcellus, having reconquered the island from the 
Carthaginians, again took possession of it in the name of the 
Roman people. But for two years the Carthaginians main- 
tained a foothold in many fortresses of the island, and the 
fluctuations of the war were such that at one time there were 
axty-two towns in a state of revolt against the Romans. But 
though the billows of war thus rose and fell, the Roman arms 
were steadily in the ascendant, and in the year 210 before 
Christ, word was sent to Rome that the war in Sicily was at 
an end. We read the brief record of this stem strife with 
composure. But no imagination can conceive the horrors of 
the conflict. The whole island was for years swept with 
flame and deluged with blood. 

Both parties were equally merciless. There was no pity 
for the widow or the orphan, the matron or the maiden. The 
captives were scourged and then beheaded, or sold into per- 
petual slavery. This horrible bondage was not the doom of 
any particular race or color, but men of senatorial dignity, and 
maidens of exalted birth and of richest accomplishments, were 
sold unscrupulously in the slave-marts of Rome and Carthage. 
This is the slavery which existed in the timo of our Saviour, 
and which we are now told that Christ and His apostles re- 
garded without disapprobation. And this barbaric system of 
selling captives of all conditions taken in war, is appealed to 
as an argument in support of slavery in the midst of the 
Christian institutions of the nineteenth century. ITie Romans 
came in crowds to Sicily, purchased at a merely nominal price 



THB ITALIAN CAMPAlOVS OF HANNIBAL. HI 

Tast traets of land, which war had depopulated, and colti* 
yated their extended plantations by the unpaid toil of these 
woe-stricken brothers and sisters of the human family whom 
barbaric war had enslaved. Neither whites nor blaoks will 
long endure such wrongs. Eighty years passed away, whea 
a servile insurrection broke out, and the Roman slave-holden 
bit the dust. 

Hannibal was now in Apulia recruiting his soldiers, and 
nnJecided as to the direction in which he would Iaa^ his 
anny. The terrible severity with which Rome had punished 
the insurgents of Oapua, and those in Sicily who had espou^ 
ed the Carthaginian cause, intimidated all the tribes of Italy, 
who had any disposition to unite with Hannibal in the en* 
deavor to throw off the Roman yoke. Two consular armies 
were now sent into Apulia to operate against the invaders* 
But even these two united, dared not meet Hannibal in the 
open field. Concentrating his band of veterans, he marched to 
and fro^ whithersoever he pleased, all opposition flying before 
him. He burnt &rm^ouses and villages, plundered the gran* 
aries, trampled down the harvests, and drove off the cattlsi 
Famine, and its invariable concomitant, pestilence, followed in 
his path. 

With stratagem characteristic of this shrewd chieftain, 
Hannibal detached one of the consular armies, that of Fal- 
vius, from its ally, fell upon it unexpectedly, and almost every 
man was hewn down by the sabres of his cavalry. But not- 
withstanding these successes, no one thought, even, of propofr- 
ing terms of peace with the invader. The terror, however, 
which the individual powers of Hannibal inspired, is conspifv 
nous, from the fact that while he was almost without oppost 
(ion plundering the plains of Italy, Rome, fearing to meet him 
m battle, sent armies across the sea to carry the war to the 
walls of Carthage. The war now was spread over almost tht 
whole of southern Europe and northern Africa. The crash 
of arms and cry of onset were heard in Italy, Spain, Afrioa, 

6 



tn ITALY. 

Sicily, Greece, and every where upon the waves of the Medi- 
terranean, as, in gigantio conflict, Rome and Carthage strag- 
gled for the sovereignty of the world. 

Tidings now reached the senate that Hasdruhal, the brother 
of Hannibal, was leaving Carthage with a strong reenforce- 
ment, to traverse Spain and Gaul, and -convey to his brother in 
Italy succors, which would render him invincible. The danger 
was considered so imminent that a dictator was immediately 
appointed. Q. Fulvius, one of the most renowned generals of 
the empire, was placed in this responsible post, and was also 
appointed consul, with another renowned general, Fabius, as 
his colleague. These two generals in cooperation with Marcel- 
lus, the conqueror of Sicily, combined all their energies, aided 
by dictatorial power, in organizing a campaign for crushing 
Hannibal before his brother could arrive with his reenforce- 
ments. Each was placed at the head of a full consular army, 
and from different directions they conmienced their march into 
Apulia to overwhelm the foe who had so long set Rome at 
defiance. The doom of Hannibal seemed now sealed. It was 
not doubted that Hannibal, in the south of Italy, would thus 
be destroyed before Hasdrubal could bring his reenforcements 
across the Alps. 

In this perilous hour the military genius of Hannibal shone 
forth with even unwonted splendor. Like a Hon at bay he 
sprang first upon Fulvius, and drove his legions broken and 
bleeding in utter rout from the field. Utterly exhausted by 
the blows he had received, the vanquished, humiliated, breath- 
less consul took refuge within the walls of Venusia, where he 
was compelled to remain repairing damages and healing 
wounds for the remainder of the campaign. Freed from thi 
enemy Hannibal turned, with a tremendous bound, upon Mar- 
cellus. The approach of the Carthaginians, impetuously, like 
the rush of the tornado, struck the inferior band with terror. 
They fled to a hill for safety. Here they were surrounded, 




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f- 

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THX ITALIAN OAMPAIOHB OF HAHNIBAL. 

md only sayed themsehres from a bloody grave by an onooi^ 
dttional surrender. 

Witbont the loss of a day Hannibal then turned npoB 
FabiTU^ whose troops had marched to the assault of the im- 
pregnable walls of Tarentum, which city, capable of repelling 
any fi)e, was held by the Carthagenians. But treachery be- 
trayed the frowning fortresses into the hands of the RomanSi 
and wh^i Hannibal had arrived within five miles of the gates^ 
to his utter consternation he learned that the garrison had 
eapitulated) and that the Roman banners were floating over 
the towers of the city. He, however, advanced to the walls, 
and encamped, for a few days, before the city, practicing 
every stratagem to lure the Romans out to battle. Failing ia 
this, he resumed his resistless march of devastation and plun- 
der. 

Hie result of the campugn caused great disappointment. 
Though Tarentum had been gained by the Romans, the acqui- 
sition was the result of treason, hot of unitary prowess, and 
tile superiority of Hannibal was more manifest than ever 
before. The indignation against Marcellus, who had taken 
shelter behind the walls of Yenusia for the whole summer, 
was so strong that one of the most venerable of the tribunes 
brought in a bill before the people to deprive him of his com- 
mand. Marcellus returned to Rome to plead his own cause. 
He declared that he had done the best he could ; that it was 
not his &ult if he had been conquered by one whom none 
other of the Roman generals had yet been able to withstand. 
No one could seriously doubt the courage of the old man, 
and the people, moved by his mortification, generously forgave 
fcim his want of success, rejected the bill of irapeacliraent, an^ 
elected him consul. 

Agan the cloud of adversity began to darken over the 
hroman republic. Hasdrubal was advancing, with rapid 
strides, through the passes of the Alps. Hannibal seemed to 
be invinciUe. Twelve of the Roman colonies, dreading his 



IM ITALY. 

ravages, refiised longer to contribute to carry on the waf 
against him, and there were many indications that the Etms- 
oans, one of the most powerful of the Italian nations in alli- 
ance with Rome, were preparing to receive Hasdrubal as a 
deliverer. 

The spring of the year 208 b. c. now came, opening the 
eleventh campaign of this memorable war. Two consular 
armies were raised amounting to forty thousand men, and 
were sent against Hannibal. As these troops were on the 
march, confident from their superiority in numbers that Han- 
nibal would not venture to risk a battle, they were suddenly 
assailed, in the flanks of their column, by the whole Cartha- 
ginian cavalry. The Romans, taken by surprise, were routed, 
trampled down, and scattered in all directions. In a skirmish, 
which soon after ensued, Marcellus himself was slain. The 
Romans retreated to a hill where they threw up entrench- 
ments and stood upon the defensive. They no longer thought 
of assailing Hannibal, but hoped only to escape from his terri- 
ble arm. For the remainder of the season the field was left 
free to Hannibal. 

Again a fearful wave of dismay was rolled over Rome. 
The tidings came that Hasdrubal, with a large army, had suo- 
ceeded in crossing the Alps and was advancing with his exul- 
tant troops through the plains of Cisalpine Gaul. Hasdrubal 
crossed the Pyrenees at their western extremity, and thus 
eluded the soldiers sent to oppose his march by guarding the 
eastern passes of the mountains. He continued his march 
across Gaul, passed the Rhone near Lyons, and struck the 
route of Hannibal in the plains of Dauphine, at the foot of 
the Alps. There were now two Carthaginian armies march- 
ing upon Rome — Hannibal from the south, and Hasdrubal 
from the north. 

Again Rome roused all her energies, and created and 
equipped two consular armies for the conflict. Nero and liv- 
ins were chosen consuls, both men of great energy* The 



THB ITALIAK OAMPAIOKS OF HANNIBAL. 13A 

whole Ronun fiiroe seat into the field for this campaign, con- 
nsting <^ BomanB and their allies, amounted to one him ire d 
and fifty thousand men. But for her allies, Rome would now 
ineyitablj have been crushed; for the whole population of 
Roman dtizens, capable of bearing arms, amounted at this 
time to but one hundred and thirty-seven thousand one hun- 
dred and ^ht. So great was the demand for men that the 
slaves wwe invited to enlist, and two legions were composed 
of them. The consul Livius, a very stem old man, was sent 
to oppose Hasdrubal, and the consul Nero led the army 
against Hannibal. 

Hasdrubal issued from the Alps, through the same defiles 
his brother had threaded deven years before, and crossing the 
Po, descended the right bank to Placentia. A Latin colony 
hdld this dty, and, faithful to Rome, it closed its gates against 
the invaders. Hasdrubal, having no enginery of war suffi- 
ciently powerM to batter down the walls, after a delay of a 
few days marched on toward the shores of the Adriatic. He 
immediately despatched six horsemen to his brother to inform 
him of his approach, and to propose a union of their two 
armies in IJmbria, and a prompt march upon Rome by the 
Flaminian road. 

Hasdrubal advanced in such strength that Livius was 
unable to oppose him, and he consequently retreated, and 
intrenched himself behind the Metaurus, near the maritime 
colony of Sena. Nero, with an army of forty thousand in- 
&ntry, and twenty-five thousand cavalry, was at Yenusia, 
operating to prevoit Hannibal from marching north to co&p> 
erate with his brother. There was also a Roman army of 
cwenty thousand men in the rear of Hannibal at Tarentum. 
Still Hannibal baffled all the endeavors of Nero. Marching 
to and fro he gathered supplies and increased his force, and 
encamped in strong array at Canuriuna, waiting for tidings 
from his brother. 

In the meantime the six horsemen despatched by Hasdroi 



IM ITALY. 

bal, with wonderfiil bravery and sagaoity traversed the whole 
length of Italy, through many hair-breadth escapes, until, 
losing their way, they arrived near Tarentum, where they 
encountered a foraging party of the Romans, by whom they 
were taken prisoners, and despatched under a strong escort to 
Nero. The letter found in their possession, revealed to Nero 
a full plan of Hasdrubal's contemplated operations. Nero 
iespatched the letter to the Roman senate, recalled to his ban* 
ners all the scattered divisions of his army, and sunmioned to 
his camp every Roman citizen capable of bearing arms. Leav- 
mg this force under the command of his lieutenants, to check 
any movement of Hannibal, he placed himself at the head of 
a select body of seven thousand men, one thousand of whom 
were cavalry, and starting from his camp at midnight, by 
forced marches, hastened to the banks of the Metaurus to join 
his colleague Livius, and aid him in crushing Hasdrubal before 
Hannibal could march to his aid. 

As he advanced on this secret expedition, he revealed to 
his soldiers his plan. They shared the spirit of their leader, 
and with great enthusiasm pressed on their way. As they 
passed rapidly along, the whole population crowded the road- 
side with offerings of meat, drink, clothing, horses, and car- 
riages. Altars were reared to the gods at various points on 
their route, which were incessantly smoking with incense to 
propitiate divine favor. The soldiers were so eager, that they 
pressed on day and night, hardly allowing any halt. In 
eeven days the march was accomplished, and Nero, with his 
army increased to eight or ten thousand, in the darkness of 
the night entered the Roman camp of Livius, which was then 
intrenched upon some eminences fourteen miles south of the 
Metaurus. Hasdrubal had also crossed that river, and had 
established his lines at but half a mile distant from the 
Roman ramparts, preparing to give battle. 

Nero had so secretly entered the encampment of Livius, 
that Hasdrubal was as imconscious of his arrival as Hannibal 



THB ITALIAN OAMPAIGKS OF RAKITIBAL 12T 

was of his departure. But the next morning as Hasdrabal 
rode out to reconnoiter, he was struck with the vast increase 
in the number of his foes, an increase so great as to demand 
his immediate retreat across the Metaurus. He attempted it 
the next night, leaving all his camp-fires burning. But livius 
and Nero vigorously followed ; attacked him vehemently upon 
the precipitous and wooded banks of the stream, and, after a 
desperate battle, overwhelming him with numbers, cut his 
whole army to pieces. Hasdrubal, seeing that all was lost, 
spurred his horse into the midst of a Roman cohort and fell 
pierced by innumerable wounds, selling his life as dearly as 
possible. The whole Carthaginian camp, with all its wealth, 
fell into the hands of the conquerors. Of the ten elephants 
which Hasdrubal had led across the Alps, six were killed in 
the action and four were taken alive. Three thousand Roman 
prisoners were found in the camp, and set at liberty. Hasdru- 
bal's army was thus utterly destroyed, and Hannibal was left 
alone to struggle against the Roman power now rising with 
new energies. 

Nero cut off the head of Hasdrubal, and returning rap- 
idly to Apulia, where Hannibal was impatiently waiting for 
intelligence from his brother, threw the gory head into the 
Carthaginian camp. This was the first intelligence Hannibal 
received of the irreparable disaster. For a moment he was 
overwhelmed, exclaiming : 

'^My fate is sealed. All is lost. I shall send no more 
news of victory to Carthage. In losing Hasdrubal my last 
hope is gone." 

When the tidings of the great victory was received i 
Rome, a scene of exaltation and joy was witnessed such a 
Rome had never displayed before. The two consuls were 
honored with the most gorgeous triumph Rome could then 
ftunish. Victories, as well as reverses, often come in troops. 
Wliile Rome was blazing with illuminations, and echoing with 
the huzzas of the people, news came that the Roman legions 



128 ITALY. 

in Spmn were also trampling down their foes. Soipio 
there marching from conquest to conquest, crushing all opp<v 
fiition before him. He had reached and captured New Car 
thage, now Carthagena, the proud cafRtal of Carthaginian 
power in the peninsula. 

Scipio, the young general now rising so rapidly to renowi 
in the war in Spain, merits special notice. When but twenty- 
mx years of age, he was appointed to the command of the 
Roman troops in Spain, under circumstances very similar to 
those in which Napoleon took charge of the army of Italy in 
1796 ; and Scipio wielded the powers placed in his hands with 
scarcely less of skill and energy than Napoleon subsequently 
displayed. It is said that he marched from the Ebro to New 
Carthage, a distance of three hundred and twenty-five miles^ 
in seven days. Carthagena, as the city is now called, stands 
8t the head of its world-renowned bay, and spreads its 
streets widely over hills and valleys. These valleys were 
then lagoons, and the city was built on a peninsula, connected 
by a very narrow isthmus with the main land. Scipio, after a 
short siege, took the city by storm, in one of the fiercest 
fights on record, he having inspired his soldiers with his own 
invincible daring. The slaughter of the wretched inhabitants 
was dreadftil, ten thousand only being reserved as captives. 
These the conqueror treated with great humanity, and thus 
secured their gratitude and their loyalty. His honoraUa 
bearing, so unusual in those dark days, and particularly the 
delicacy with which he treated his female prisoners, produced 
% deep impression in his favor ail over Spain. 



CHAPTER VII. 

flORBIGN OONQUESTS AND INTERNAL FBUDA 
Fbom 208 b. a to 121 B. a 

.— Hb CiiAmAons and Caribb.— Tn Conqumt of Spaik.— QosLinw tn 
MimifT.— MiLiTAmT Psowms ov Haiviiibau— Hi Rama vbom Italt.— Soipio 
Intadm Afeioa. — DvTKuoTioN OV TBI Gabtbaquiiaii Abmt.— Tbuob ahs 
HcmiuATioiT ov Gabthagb.— Labdinq op Hannibal in Apbioa.— -Battlb op 
Zama.— Glosb op tbb 8booni> Pimio Wab.— Gonqubbt op Qbbbob.— Invasion op 
Stria.— Third Punio War.— Dbbtbuotion op Gabtbagb.— Tbb Numidian Wab. 
--Babbabian Invasion.— Thb Plbbbian and Patbioian Gonpuot.— Gbaoohub 

AND OOTATin. 

rpHE victories of Scipio in Spain, and the skill with which 
-*- he combined humanity with severity, speedily created a 
strong disposition with the Spaniards to throw off their 
alliance with Carthage and receive the Romans as their pro- 
tectors and masters. Many Spanish tribes joined the army of 
Scipio. This young Roman general was one of those marked 
men bom to command. In both form and feature he was 
remarkably attractive and imposing. He was courteous and 
polished in his manners, and displayed that consciousness of 
greatness, blended with gentleness, magnanimity, and an 
entire absence of arrogance, which naturally wins the homage 
of all human hearts. The Carthaginian generals complained 
that no Spanish troops could be trusted, if they were once 
brought within the sphere of his influence. 

As soon as Scipio received the news of the great victory 
of the Metaurus, he was roused to the strongest desire to 
emulate that victory by a still more decisive action in Spaiiu 
A general by the name of Hasdrubal Gisco was now in com- 
mand of the Carthaginian forces, having an army of seventy 

e* 



180 ITALT. 

thousand foot soldiers and four thousand horse, with thirty 
two elephants. As Scipio could not bring into the field more 
than forty-five thousand foot and three thousand horse, Has- 
druba] felt sanguine in his abihty to crush him. Notwith- 
standing the superiority of the Carthaginian force, Scipio was 
eager for a general battle. But when he had led his troops 
within sight of the foe, aad found them strongly intrenched in 
such overwhelming numbers, he was very uneasy lest the 
courage of his Spanish allies should fell. He, therefore, 
formed his line of battle, placing his Roman soldiers on the 
right and left, and encircling, as it were, the Spaniards in the 
center. With evolutions of wonderftd sMll, Scipio led his 
veteran colunms to the assault, using his Spanish auxiliaries to 
intimidate by their formidable array, while sheltering them from 
the storm of war. The battle raged demoniacally for a day. 
It was the old story of confusion, clangor, misery, and blood« 
By the middle of the afternoon the Carthaginians were 
routed and flying in all directions. Their camp, with all its 
magazines and treasures, would have fallen into the hands of 
the victors, but for a tempest of thunder, wind, and rain 
which suddenly burst, with almost inconceivable fury, upon 
the field of battle. The Romans, exhausted by the toils of 
their great achievement, were compelled to seek the shelter 
of their tents. The great victory virtually ended the Car- 
thaginian dominion in Spain; and the vast peninsula was 
transferred to Rome, to swell the renown and the power of 
that nation, as yet but five hundred and fifty years of age, 
and destined so soon to be the mistress of the world. The 
routed Carthaginians fled to the sea, and embarking in their 
ships, escaped to their own land. The native chiefs crowded 
around Scipio with offers of homage, and it was soon an- 
nounced to hin that no enemy was to be found in the field, 
from the Pyrenees to the Pillars of Hercules. Scipio dis- 
patched his brother to Rome to announce the conquest of 
Spain. 



roBBiair oonqubsts and intbbnal fbuds. 181 

The successful general, with sagacity and energy, whiob 
had given him lasting renown, now resolved to carry the war 
into Aiiica. Syphax, a king of one of the African nations, was 
then in alliance with Carthage. Scipio, having sounded him 
through an ambassador, embarked with only two quinque- 
remes, and was so fortunate as to elude aU the Carthaginian 
ships, and to enter the maritime metropolis of Syphax in 
safety. It so happened that Hasdrubal Gisco had just arrived 
in the same port, with seven ships, seeking aid from his ally. 
Syphax invited them both to his table in a gorgeous entertain- 
ment. The genius of Scipio was here so conspicuous, that 
Hasdrubal is said to have declared, that Scipio appeared to 
him more dangerous in peace than in war. Syphax was 
brought completdy under the sway of his mind, and entered 
cordially into a treaty with him. Scipio then returned to 
New Carthage, in Spain, well satisfied with the results of his 
mission. 

A mutiny, in consequence of arrearages of pay, broke out 
in the army, which was quelled by Scipio with characteristio 
severity and lenity. The mutineers, in a body, marched upon 
New Carthage to demand redress. Scipio, informed of their 
approach, sent seven tribunes to meet them with fair words. 
Thus encouraged they marched into the open gates of New 
Carthage in high spirits. Scipio sent them a flattering mes- 
sage, and, in perfect confidence, they dispersed to their quar- 
i;ers for the night. In the meantime Scipio had obtained the 
names of thirty-five of the prominent actors in the revolt, and 
had ordered their secret arrest. In the earliest dawn of the 
morning strong bodies of troops were stationed at each gate 
of the city, so that no one could escape. The insurgents were 
then invited to meet Scipio at the forum, as if to receive the 
redress of their grievances. All unconscious of danger, they 
crowded the market-place, unarmed, as was customary on 
such occasions. 

Sdpio was seated upon a throne. Gradually the suspicion 



Itf ITALY 

spread through the ranks of the insurgents that they were 
betrayed. Ti'oops, in solid column, were marched from ap- 
pointed rendezvous, and they occupied all the streets leading 
to the place of general gathering. The crier, with a loud 
voice, commanded silence. Breathless stillness, ensued. The 
thirty-five ringleaders were brought up in chains. Scipio then 
declared that all of the mutinous soldiers he would forgive, 
nflicting punishment only on those who had misled them. 
Each of these thirty-five officers was then stripped and bound 
to a stake, and after being terribly scourged, they were all be- 
headed. The mutiny was thus effectually quelled, and Scipio 
gained a new ascendency over the minds of his soldiers; 

The whole of the Spanish peninsula now was in the posses- 
sion of the Romans. Scipio, thus victorious, hoped to attain 
the consulship, and leaving his army under the conmiand of 
lieutenants, returned to Rome. With great pomp he entered 
the imperial city, conveying immense wealth, gained from the 
plundered provinces, which he deposited in the treasury. He 
was greeted with great enthusiasm, and by acclaim was raised 
to the consulship. Scipio now prepared, with great vigor, to 
drive Hannibal from Italy. 

The destruction of HasdrubaPs army, had reduced Hannibal 
to the necessity of acting solely on the defensive. He had 
sent to Carthage for fresh recruits to be dispatched to him 
across the sea, and he now hoped only to maintain his ground, 
until these reinforcements should arrive. His militaiy renown 
was so extraordinary, that the Romans dared not attack him. 
Mago, a younger brother of Hannibal, with the wi-eck of the 
Carthacrinian army which had been driven out of Spain, 
landed in Italy and took Genoa by surprise. For a few 
months he carried on a vigorous war against the Romans, 
Btiniggling to fight his way to the relief of his brother. Four 
Roman legions were sent against him, and after many obsti- 
nate battles he was driven to his ships, he himself being mor- 
tally wounded. As the fleet was retummg to Africa, wh^i 



90BS'a^N CONQUESTS AKI> INTBRNAL FBUDS. ISt 

dT the coast of Sardinia, Mago died, snfiering far more fixm 
disappointment and chagrin than from his festering wounds. 

The wonderHd genius of Hannibal is conspicuous in ths 
&ct, that for four years after the death of Hasdrubal he main- 
tained his position in southern Italy, in defiance of all the 
power of Rome. During all this time he received no suppKes 
from home, and had no other naval force at his disposal, but 
such vessds as he could build and man. Conscious that, hii 
name would live and his exploits be renowned through ages 
to oome, he reared several monumental oolunms at Lacinium, 
upon which he engraved minute particulars of his campaigns. 
At length, after spending fifteen years in ravaging Italy, he 
embarked his troops, to return to Carthage, without the 
slightest opposition from the Rom^^as. For fifteen years he 
bad ravaged Italy, from one end to the other with fire and 
sword, and yet, through an almost incessant series of battles, 
had never experienced a decided defeat. 

Scipio had already gone, with a large army to Africa, to 
carry on the war to the walls of Carthage. With a large 
fleet he crossed the Mediterranean, and landed within five 
miles of the metropolitan city. He did not venture immedi- 
ately to attack the formidable capital, but, imitating the policy 
of Hannibal, he ravaged the adjacent country, and s^it to 
Rome eight thousand unhappy captives, men, women, and 
children, to be sold into slavery. Two large Carthaginian 
armies w^e raised to oppose him, and, as winter was fast 
approaching, Scipio retired to winter quarters, near the sea, 
where, supported by his fleet, he waited an opportunity to 
strike some effectual blow. 

The Carthaginians did not venture to attack him behina his 
intrenchments, but encamped at a short distance to watch his 
movements. Scipio, to throw them off* their guard, sent com- 
missioners to negotiate terms of peace, pretending that he 
was exceedingly anxious to come to an amicable settlement of 
tbesr difficulties. In the meantime he had ascertained that the 



IM ITALY. 

Oarthaginian camp was composed of hats constmoted of 
stakes, and thatched with dry leaves and grass. Disgoising 
some of his soldiers as slaves, they were introduced into the 
enemy's camp, as forming a part of the suite of the officers 
engfiged in the negotiation ; and these pretended slaves, un- 
suspected, acted as efficient spies, in gaining all the informa- 
tion which was desired. 

At length he suddenly broke off all communication with the 
enemy, having succeeded in introducing, under various dis- 
guises and pretexts, several of his emissaries into their camp* 
In a dry and windy night, the torch was touched to the 
thatched cottages. The flames spread with a rapidity which 
no human power could check. The Carthaginians, imagining 
the conflagration to be the result of accident, were thrown off 
their guard and they crowded together, in the utmost disorder 
in the attempt to extinguish the flames, or to escape from 
them. 

While in this helpless state of confusion, Scipio, with his 
whole force, fell upon them. Neither resistance nor flight 
were of any avail. The flames, sweeping in all directions, 
raged like a flirnace. Every avenue was choked by a crowd 
of men and horses, in confhsion and terror indescribable. All 
the enginery of Roman warfare was brought to bear upon 
them ; and in the course of a few hours an army of ninety 
thousand men was annihilated, all being slain or dispersed. 

Scipio, thus exultant, was still not sufficiently strong to 
make an attack upon the walled city of Carthage. But he 
surrounded one of the neighboring cities, and vigorously 
pressed its siege. The retributive providence of God is here 
wonderfully prominent, a retribution which extends to nations 
as well as to individuals. " For whatsoever a man soweth, 
that shall he also reap." Scipio was now ravaging the Car- 
thaginian realms m almost precisely the same manner in which 
Hannibal had ravaged Italy. Soon the Carthaginians had 
organized another army of thirty thousand men. But no 



VOBBIGN GONQ1TB8TS AETD INTERNAL FUBD8* MS 

•ooner had they emerged from the walls of the city^ than 
Sdpio fell upon them, and with much slaughter drore them 
panting and bleeding back behind their ramparts. 

Scipio now swept to and fro with resistless foroe, oompdt 
ing tho submission of the surrounding towns, and enriching 
his soldiers with immense plunder. He advanced to Tunis, 
then a strong post in the yicinity of Carthage, and, finding it 
abandoned by the garrison, established himself theic. Tinder 
these circumstances the Carthaginians implored peace. The 
tenns which the haughty conqueror demanded were humiliar 
ting in the extreme. The conditions he dictated were, that the 
Carthaginians should evacuate all Italy and Ghiul ; that ^>ain 
and all the islands between Africa and Italy should be ceded 
to Rome ; that all the Carthaginian ships, but twenty, should 
be surrendered to the conqueror ; and that Carthage should 
pay an immense contribution in provisions and money to the 
Roman army. Hard as these terms wwe, the Carthaginians 
acceded to them, and a truce was concluded, while embassi^ 
dors were sent to Rome to procure the ratification of the 
senate and people. 

Matters were in this condition when Hannibal, having 
evacuated Italy, landed with his troops in Afiioa, and the truce 
was immediately broken. He disembarked his force at Leptis, 
and advanced to Zama, a town about five days' march from 
Carthage. Scipio and Hannibal had a mutual admiration for 
each other's military genius, and as the armies approached, the 
two iUustrious generals held a private interview, perhaps 
hoping to effect a termination of hostilities. The meeting led 
to no peaceful results, and the next day the antagonistic hosts 
were led into the field for a decisive battle. The numbers 
engaged on either side are not now known. The battle of 
Tama is renowned in history as one of the fiercest and moat 
decisive which has ever been fought. The Carthaginians 
were utterly routed. Tweniy thousand were left dead upon 



186 TALT. 

the plain, and an equal number were taken prisoners. Hann> 
bal, with the mere wreck of his army, escaped to Adrimetmn* 

This was one of the decisive battles which seems to have 
decided the fate of the world. There was no longer any force 
to be rallied, sufficient to withstand the march of Rome toward 
universal conquest. The Carthaginians, utterly dejected, 
again sent embassadors to Scipio, with the most humiliating 
supplications for peace. The conqueror, with imperial airs, 
reproached them for their past misconduct, and consented to 
peace only on condition that they should make ample amends 
for the injuries done to the Romans during the truce, surren* 
der all deserters and prisoners, give up all their ships of war 
but ten, engage in no war whatever without the consent of the 
Romans, feed the Roman army for three months, and pay all 
the Roman soldiers their wages until they should be recalled 
home ; pay an immediate contribution of ten thousand Euboio 
talents (eleven million seven hundred and ninetynseven thou- 
sand five hundred dollars), and also pay annually, for fiily 
years, two hundred talents (two hundred and thirty-five thou- 
sand nine hundred and fifty dollars), and give two hundred 
hostages, between the ages of fourteen and thirty, to be 
selected at the pleasure of the Roman general, and to be sent 
to Rome, there to be held in captivity as security for the ful- 
fillment of the treaty. 

Even Hannibal was so conscious that, for the present, fur- 
ther resistance was vain, that he urged the acceptance of these 
merciless conditions. Peace was accordingly signed, and the 
Roman army returned to Italy. Thus terminated the second 
Punic war. Rome received Scipio with triumph, and in re- 
ward for his services conferred upon him the name of Scipio 
Afi-icanus. During this war, at times so disastrous, Roma 
had made enormous strides. Her dominion now extended 
over all Italy, Spain, Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. Even Car- 
thage had become virtually a dependent and tributary prov« 
ince. The desiaoiction of the Carthaginian fieet had made the 



VOBBIGK OONQUBBTS AMD IKTEBNAL FB1TD8. IfV 

Romans masters of the sea; and iJieir own fleet was now 
rapidly increasing, as a large navy was necessary to maintain 
oommmiication with their possessions out of Italy. From the 
height which Rome had now attained, she looked abroad over 
the world and ooyeted the possession of unlimited power- 
Repubhean equality was dominant in the councils of the na» 
tion, and the highest offices of state were accessible to all who 
had talents and energy to win l^em. 

Hannibal, unable to endure the disgrace of his country and 
his own humiliation, fled to Syria. For some years he wan^- 
dered from court to court hoping to form a coalition to resist 
the encroachments of Rome. Pursued by his foes, he was 
ever in danger of arrest, and at length life became an in- 
supportable burden. A wretched fugitive he had reached 
Bithynia, one of tiie kingdoms of Asia Minor. The king of 
Bithynia, trembling before the power of the Romans, in reply 
to their demands, agreed to deliver him up. Hannibal, now a 
world-weary old man, nearly seventy years of age, in despair 
went to his chamber, drank poison and died. 

The greed of conquest kept alive a warlike spirit, and 
every man, emulous of renown, sought to attain it on fields of 
blood. The second Punic war being thus successfhlly termin* 
ated, Rome now turned her eyes to Macedonia determined to 
crush the power of Philip, its energetic sovereign. It was easy 
to find occasion for a quarrel. A fleet was dispatched conveying 
a large army to the shores of Greece, and for three years the 
hills and valleys of that fair land were swept by the storms of 
war. At length Philip, defeated in a dedsive battle in Thes- 
saly, was compeUed to accept peace on such terms as the 
Romans thought proper to dictate. 

In anguish the Macedonian monarch surrendered to Rome 
and her allies, every dty he possessed out of the limits of 
Macedonia, both in Europe and Asia. He was also forced to 
dfifiver up nearly his whole navy to Rome, and also to pay a 



IS8 ITALT. 

subsidy of one million one hundred and seyenty-nine thousand 
seven hundred and fifty dollars. 

The Roman armies thus Tictorious in Greece, again entered 
their ships and crossed the sea into Syria. Antiochus, the king, 
fought bravely. In battle after battle he was defeated, and 
he slowly retired, mile by nule, struggling against the inva- 
ders. A decisive battle at length brought him upon his knees 
before triumphant Rome. The terms exacted were remorse- 
less. Antiochus surrendered all his possessions in Europe, all 
in Asia west of Mt. Taurus, reimbursed the expenses of the 
war ; paid immediately in cash, a sum equal to five hundred 
thousand dollars, and a vast quantity of com. He also sur- 
rendered twenty hostages to be selected by the Roman con- 
sul, and agreed to pay a sum amounting to nearly eighteen 
million of dollars, in installments extending through eleven 
years. Antiochus also surrendered all his elephants and his 
whole navy to Rome. 

In all these wars Rome was merciless. In Epirus, after all 
hostilities were at an end, seventy towns were sacked and 
destroyed in a day, and one hundred and fifty thousand human 
beings were sold as slaves. It'is Christianity alone, which has 
divested war of such horrors. Gradually all the states ot 
Greece lost their independence and became Roman provinces. 
Beautiful Corinth fell in ruins and ashes before the march of 
the ruthless invaders. Metellus took it by storm in the year 
146, B. c. Most of the male citizens were surrendered to the 
sword. The women and children were sold for slaves. The 
caty was plundered, and houses and temples were given up to 
the flames. With the fall of Corinth perished Grecian inde. 
pendence. 

But again Carthage roused herself for a death struggle 
against her foes. We enter upon the memorable period of 
the Third Punic war. Since the terminatior of the Second 
Punic war, Carthage had remained humiliated and silent, not 
daring to utter even a remonstrance against any degree of 



90BSI0K OOKQVS8TB AND IKTSBNAL FSUDfl. IM 

insult or outrage. With the most extraordinary docility shs 
yielded to every demand, never declining, whenever called 
upon, to aid the Romans with her arms. Her little fleet was 
ever compelled to sail, at the bidding of Rome, to co5perate in 
Roman conquests. Still the power of Carthage was such that 
Rome regarded the distant commonwealth with a jealous eye ; 
and in the Roman Senate the suggestion was not unfrequently 
thrown out, that Carthage ought no longer to be permitted to 
exist. 

When there is a disposition to quarrel, it is never difScult 
to find a pretext. Two consular armies, with a large fleet, 
were soon sent to Africa. The Carthaginians, overawed by 
the magnitude of the force, attempted no resistance; but, 
through their embassadors, surrendered themselves unre- 
servedly to the disposal of Rome. The Roman consuls had 
no pity. They demanded three hundred children of the flrst 
fionilies as hostages. It was granted, and the weeping chil- 
dren were surrendered amidst the lamentations of their parents. 
They demanded all the Carthaginian weapons of war, both 
offensive and defensive. An immense train of wagons con- 
veyed the arms to the Roman camp. In a vast concourse the 
most illustrious men of Carthage followed the train, hoping 
by thdr abject submission, to conciliate th^ terrible foes. 
But haughty Rome had decreed that Carthage must be de- 
stroyed: With consternation inexpressible the Carthaginians 
then heard the demand that they should abandon their city 
entirely, every man, woman, and child, and establish them- 
selves any where they pleased at a distance of at least ten 
Bules from the sea. ^^We are resolved,'' said the consuls, 
•*to raze Carthage to the ground." 

This demand roused the energies of despair. As the ex- 
hausted stag turns upon the dogs, protracting but for a few 
moments his inevitable doom, so unarmed, helpless Carthage 
turned upon Rome. The whole population rose in a frenzy. 
Hen, women and ohOdren worked nigh: and day fabhcatu^ 



I4d ITALY. 

arms, and throwing up fortifications. The consuls immed» 
ately put their armies in motion, and approaching the citj 
commenced a siege. The strength of the fortifications were 
such, and the defenders so desperate, that every assault was 
repulsed. For two years the terrible conflict raged around 
the walls of Carthage. But Rome incessantly sent new re- 
cruits to fill up the vacancies death occasioned, while Carthage 
was continually growing weaker. The misery in the city 
from famine and pestilence, was dreadful beyond description. 
At length the Romans forced their way through a breach 
into one of the quarters of the city, and then the horrible 
struggle wafl continued for six days and six nights, from street 
to street, and from house to house, until the assailed, utterly 
exhaust^ could resist no more ; and the smoldering city, 
with its dying inhabitants, was surrendered at discretion. 

Hopeless slavery, without distinction of age or sex or c<mi- 
dition, was the doom of the captured. Fifty thousand Car> 
thaginians were sent to the slave markets of Rome, where 
they were sold at auction and dispersed over the empire. 
Men of consular dignity, matrons of illustrious lineage and 
character, and young ladies beautiful and endowed with the 
highest accomplishments of that day, suflered the doom of life, 
long bondage, a doom which was also transmitted to their 
offspring. This was but one hundred and forty years before 
the birth of Christ. Such was the slavery upon which our 
Saviour and His apostles are impiously accused of having 
looked with complacency. 

For many days the Roman soldiers were employed in pluft" 
dering the city. Then every building, which had withstood 
the storm of battle, was leveled with the ground. A decree 
was passed that no one should rear another building upon the 
spot, and the whole territory was placed under the dominion 
of a Roman governor. Thus was Carthage destroyed, in the 
d08th year after the building of Rome, and 146 years before 
tbe Christian era. Thus, in this brief and final conflict, tov 



VOBB^TAiqr OOWQTTB6TS AHO IHTBBNAL FBTfDB. 141 

minated the Tb jrd Pernio war ; and the Oarthaginian empire 
fell to rise no more. 

Though the Carthaginians had been driven from Spain, 
many of the Spanish tribes, independent and warlike, were 
yet misubdued. Rome, animated purely by the pride of con- 
quest, sent her armies for their subjugation. The annals of 
the protracted war with these tribes, are replete with deeds of 
perfidy and cruelty perpetrated by the great conqueror. An 
army of sixty thousand men for many years ravaged the 
Spanish peninsula. The cities of the natives were destroyed, 
and the captive citizens sold into slavery. At the same time, 
and with similar success, Rome was extending her conquestf 
over the neighboring tribes of Gaul, adding territory after 
territory to her domain. In Africa, also, the tramp of the 
Roman legions and the clash of Roman arms were incessantly 
heard. West and southwest of Carthage there was an exten- 
fflve country called Numidia. A renowned prince, Jugurtha, 
ruled over this domain. War was declared against this prince 
on grounds then deemed sufficient, and a consular army was 
sent over to Africa to invade his realms. For several years 
the war was carried on with varying success, Jugurtha dis- 
playing much heroism and military sagacity. 

The renowned Caius Marius, a man of humble birth, but 
of indomitable energy, secured his election to the consulship, 
and eagerly took command of the army fbr the subjugation of 
Jugurtha. The atrocities of Roman warfare are illustrated by 
the fact that Capsa, one of the most important fortified dties 
of the country, falling into the hands of the Romans, they 
massacred all the male inhabitants, sold the women and chil- 
dren into slavery, and plundered and burnt the town. By the 
most atrocious perfidy, Jugurtha was at length betrayed and 
delivered into the hands of Marius. The unhappy Numidian 
prince was led a captive to Rome, to grace the triumph of his 
conqueror. With his two sons he was dragged along, humil- 
iated and chained, in the triumphal procession ; and then aU 



J42 ITALT^ 

tiiree were put to death. The iniqmty of Rome is not dimii^ 
ished by the fact that Jugurtha merited his doom ; for had h« 
been an angel of light, his treatment woold have been the 
same. It was thus that the whole of Namidia became a 
Roman province, in the year 106 before Christ. 

A new foe of appalling character, and from an unantidpa- 
ted quarter, now assailed Rome. The forests of northern 
Europe, from the Alps to the Frozen Ocean, and from the 
British isles to China, were at this time swarming with bar- 
barian hordes. They were outside of the limits of the civilized 
world, and neither Q-reece nor Rome had cognizance of thdr 
numbers, their names, or their habits. Just at the dose of the 
Jugunhine war, two of these savage nations, called the Cimbri 
and the Teutones, made an irruption into the province of 
Dliricum, and filing fiercely upon a consular army, nearly cut 
it to pieces. After much wanton crudty and destruction, 
they retired Hke wolves howling to their forests. After a few 
years they appeared again. Two consular armies were dis- 
patched to repel them. But the barbarians were again tri- 
umphant, dispersing their foes with merciless slaughter. Rome 
itself was struck with terror ; and Marius was nused to the 
consulship as the only commander equal to the emergency. 
Marius was successful, and chastised the invaders so terribly 
that they fled, and for many years did not venture again to 
insult the territory of Rome. 

And now arose internal troubles ; and we enter upon that 
period of civil wars which for more than a hundred years des- 
olated the whole Roman territory, until the commonwealth 
disappeared, and the monarchy of Julius Caesar rose upon its 
ruins. This long conflict was waged between the rich and tha 
poor. The patricians were ever struggling to rear an impass- 
able barrier between themselves and the plebeians, and to 
monopolize all the honors, powers, and emoluments of office. 
The plebeians had ever been striving to break down that bar* 
rier, and to establish the democratic principle of equal rights 



rOBBIOK COKQUSBTB AND IKTBBKAL FBITD8. 14J 

for all. At the time when this conflict broke out into open 
war, no wealth, cnltore, abilities or virtue could raise a ple- 
bdan to the rank of a patrician. All intermarriages between 
the two classes were prohibited. The government was an 
hereditary oligarchy, which essentially excluded the whole 
mass of the nation from any participation in the administration 
of affairs. 

The community then consisted of three classes : the aris- 
tocracy, the plebeians, and the slaves. This latter class was 
very numerous, composed of the victims of Rome's innumer- 
able wars. They had few rights which either plebeian or 
patrician was bound to respect. They were not considered 
dtizens. They could hold no property but by the sufferance 
of their masters. And having neither money nor friends, the 
law could rarely afford them any protection against outrage, 
however terrible that outrage might be. The number of these 
slaves may be inferred from the fact that flfry thousand were 
taken in the destruction of Carthage alone; and that one hun« 
dred and fifty thousand were driven away from the sack of 
seventy towns in Greece. They were generally purchased by 
the great landed proprietors of Italy, and were driven by the 
lash to cultivate their fields. It will thus be perceived that 
the state of things was essentially the same as it now is in our 
slave-holding states, only that the slaves were generally whites 
instead of blacks. As most of the labor was performed by 
slaves, the poor free people, unable to find employment, were 
reduced to great distress, so that it was often said that the 
slaves were better off than the plebeian free. 

It was not considered safe to entrust the slaves with arms 
The patricians were the officers ; the plebeians the commo 
soldiers, who fought and bled. They gained great victories, 
of which the patricians reaped all the benefits, while the ple- 
beians saw their condition yearly growing worse and worse. 
The plebeians, proud of their nominal freedom, which thus 
elevated them above the slaves, in the country gained a 



144 ITAI.'?* 

wretched living by onltlvating small plats of ground. In tht 
cities they were shop-keepers and mechanics ; and there were 
vast numbers of them who had no ostensible means of sup- 
port. The mildness of the climate rendered but little clothing 
necessary. They lived upon fruit, vegetables, and oiL Edu- 
cation was confined ahnost exclusively to the rich. The ple- 
beians in the country were a more respectable class than thotse 
nu the city. The popular party was thus composed of many 
Fell-meaning, industrious men, and also of many who were 
utterly worthless. 

The aristocratic party were, as a class, rich, proud, cruel, 
selfish, and domineering. Accustomed to unHmited control 
over their slaves, they were insolent in their manners, aifed 
looked down with contempt upon all who were not on their 
own fancied level. The plebeians often complained of the 
sanguinary wars which were waged, asserting that the nobility 
sought to involve the nation in hostilities, merely for the grat- 
ification of their own ambition. But when the seat of war 
became farther removed, and the national vanity became gral- 
ified by the renown of conquest, and the soldiers were enrieb- 
ed by plunder; these popular murmurs ceased. 

The slaves had now become so numerous that they seemed 
to compose the whole of the visible population. In Sicily 
these bondmen rose in insurrection, and maintained a long war 
with the Roman government, spreading devastation over the 
whole island. There was at this time in Rome a young maa 
of nob]*i birth, and of great energy and ability, who, in oonse* 
quence of some affronts he had received from the aristocratie 
party, espoused the cause of the people. His name was 
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, and he was the son of Cor- 
nelia, who was a daughter of the elder Scipio. Tiberius had 
a younger brother, named Caius, who sympathized with him 
in his popular tendencies. As discontents were rising, placards 
were posted upon the walls of Rome, urging Gracchus to 
place himself at the head of the plebeians, in their endeavoi 



VOBSIOV OONQUXBT8 AND INTBBNAL FB1TD8. 14S 

to gain a share of the pubfio lands, which tihe patrioians had 
monopolized. Fearlessly Oracchns came forward and pro- 
posed a homestead bill, which provided that each &ther of a 
family should be entitled to three hmidred and fifty acres of 
public or conquered land, in his own right, and about one hun* 
dred and fifty more in the right of each of his sons ; and that 
any man who possessed more land than this, should restore it to 
the nation upon receiving a fiur price for it firom the treasury. 

There were several others of the aristocracy who gener- 
ously espoused the cause of the oppressed people, and codper- 
ated with Gracchus in his endeavors to meliorate their condition. 
But the aristocracy, in general, violently opposed this law. 
The irrepressible conflict between aristocratic usurpation and 
popular rights was now opened. From all parts of Italy there 
was a rush of the most influential patricians and plebeians to 
Rome, to aid in carrying the measure or to crush it. M. Octih 
vius headed the patrician party. The struggle between these 
two illustrious men, each availing himself, with wonderful 
sagacity, of all the forms of the constitution and the laws, is 
one of the most interestmg recorded in history. But Grac- 
chus triumphed. He carried a vote, in an assembly of the 
tribes, with a majority of but one, that Octavius should be 
degraded from the tribuneship. Octavius was present in this 
hour of his humiliation. The nobles looked on with unutter- 
able indignation, as an officer was immediately sent to drag 
Octavius, one of their own number, firom the seat he occupied 
as a tribune. The populace, exulting in their victorv, shame- 
iuUy broke over the restraits of law, and fell upon him with 
such violence that with great difficulty he was rescued from 
their hands. One of the slaves of Octavius lost an eye in his 
heroic attempts to defend his master. 

The law of Gracchus was now passed without difficulty, 
no one ventunng longer to oppose it. Gracchus, thus hope- 
lessly alienated from the nobles, threw himself entirely into 
the arms of the people, and, without reserve, espoused their 



146 ITALY. 

cause. A commission was appointed to carry the refbrm law 
into effect. It consisted of Gracchus, his younger brother 
Cains, and his father-in-law Appius Claudius. The king of 
Pergamus just at this time died, bequeathing his treasure and 
his dominions to the Roman people. Gracchus at once pro- 
posed that the treasure should be divided among the citizens, 
and that the government of the kingdom should be lodged 
exclusively with the popular assembly. 

Gracchus was now the idol of the populace, while the 
aristocracy pursued him with the most envenomed hatred. 
To secure him from assassination, the people guarded his 
house. The public excitement swelled higher and higher, 
until a tumult arose, and the aristocracy, arming their partisans 
and slaves, fell upon the friends of Gracchus, routed them 
with great slaughter, and Gracchus himself was slain in the 
melee. His body was thrown ignominiously into the Tiber, 
and the triumphant nobles pursued their victory with great 
cruelty. Even Cicero, ever prone to eulogize the rising, rather 
than the setting, sun, alludes to the murder of Gracchus in 
terms of commendation. For his espousal of the popular 
cause he was deemed a fanatic, and fanaticism is ever one ot 
earth's unpardonable sms. 

Though Gracchus had thus fallen, the laws which he had 
established could not be so easily subverted. A powerftd 
popular party, extending through all the Roman States, had 
been organized, and they rallied anew to resist the encroach- 
ments of the nobles. The most vigorous measures were 
adopted to carry the popular homestead bill into effect. The 
enforcement of this law deprived many of the nobles of their 
enormous landed estates, which of course excited great indig 
nation, and every possible impediment was thrown in the vay 
of its operation. The popular party, to increase their power, 
made efforts to extend very considerably the right of suffi*age. 
Thus the conflict raged with varying success, until Caius 
Gracchus, tho younger brother of Tiberius, was placed at the 



rOBSIOH OONQUB8T8 AND IKTBBNAL rBITDS. 14t 

bmA of the plebdan party. He wan then a young man thirty 
years of age, and by his energy and doquenoe, was peculiarly 
adi^ted to be a popular leader. The death of his brother had 
fired his soul with most determined hostility to the nobles. 
An we know respecting the contest which ensued, is mainly 
derived from Plutarch's life of Caius Gracchus; and his acoo- 
racy is not generally deemed very reliable. He wrote two 
hundred years after the scenes he describes, and we are not 
informed from what sources he gained his information. 

Plutarch relates that Caius commenced his career by most 
Inflammatory appeals to the people, in which he incessantly 
bewailed the fate of his brother. From his position in the 
tribuneship he was enabled to exert a powerful legislative in- 
fluence. With untiring zeal he devoted himself to the work ok 
repressing aristocratio usurpation, and strengthening the influ- 
ence of the popular mind and arm. His increasing popularity 
soon invested him with almost absolute power. He constructed 
roads, bridges, granaries, and various other works of ornament 
or utility. He was ever surrounded by a crowd of contrac- 
tors, engineers, and men of science, and he enjoyed the 
reputation of universal genius. At the close of his year of 
tribuneship, though, by the law, he was not again eligible, the 
will of the people evaded the law, and he was again elected 
with enthusiasm. The aristocratic senate, at last alarmed by 
his strides, made the desperate attempt to curtail his influence, 
by proposing measures even more democratic than Gracchus 
had introduced. A very adroit politician, Drusus, was now 
the acknowledged leader of the nobles. He seemed to be 
getting the advantage, and at last a tumult was aroused, and 
one of the aristocratic party was slain. The senate sum- 
moned Caius Gracchus to their tribunal. Instead of obeying 
he retired, with his friends, to the Aventine hill, and invited 
the slaves, by promises of freedom, to aid him in resisting the 
demands of the senate. 
Gracchus was now in ths position of a rebel The laws 



148 ITALY. 

were against him ; and he lost all his energy. A strong force 
of soldiers was sent to attack him. The conflict was short 
GracclMs, escaping from the carnage, fled across the Tiber^ 
and finding escape hopeless, was killed, at his own request, 
by a slave who accompanied him. His head was cut ofl^ 
and carried to the senate, while his body, with those of 
his followers who perished with him, was thrown into the 
Tiber. His property was confiscated, his wife even being 
deprived of her jointure. The aristocratic party pursued their 
victory with relentless cruelty, sending to the scaflbld many 
who were merely the personal friends of those who were 
engaged in the sedition. It is recorded that more than three 
thousand of the popular party perished in the action on the 
Aventine hill, and in the executions which followed. The 
aristocracy were now again in almost undisputed ascendenojr* 



OHAPl EK VIII. 

THBSOOIAL WAR. 
FnoH 121 B. a TO 8S B. a 



f TBI HomLm^^ltmnmmKwm cr Tm P»oma— l)Mm€— m o 
mw— Skbtilb IifBiTSRxcnoN iH SioiLT.— Hkeoibm or Eirinm.~MmBBni or tbm 
BaxTiLK Wam.— SmifTTirABT Lawb.— 8TBiro«i.B roB KionB ot Oiti»mbbip.— 
CoHMBNOBMBirr or TBM SooiAi. Wab.~Contbi(platbd Bboboanibation or Italy.— 
Btlla.— Wab wits Mithbidatbs.— Intbbnal DnsBNUom at Somb— Oitil Wax 
n TSB Snwns.— YiBBATioif ov xini Pbnduutk or Pabtibb.--Cimha.— Thb Ballt- 
IHO or THB Pboplb. — Mabiub Bboallbd.— Sobnbs or Anaroht.— Dbath or Mabidil 
—BnvBH aw Stu^—Pompbt Birms thb Abbha.->Battlh amb .Amamotatioia 

devebpineiits of human nature, eighteen hundred 
years ago, were the same as now. Oarbo, one of the most 
zealous of the popular leaders, abandoned his party, and pass- 
ed over to those who had become the sole dispensers of honors 
and emoluments. The Roman nobles were, at this time, 
plunged into a state of extreme corruption. The government 
of the empire had passed entirely into their hands. The gov* 
emors of the provinces rioted in luxury, the means of which 
were acquired by the most nnrelenUng extortion. Wars were 
fi>equently waged for the sole object of plunder. The line of 
separation between the nobles and the plebeians was never 
more broadly marked. The nobles had but little occasion for 
any intercourse with the plebeians, as their own numerous 
slaves supplied them with laborers, tradesmen, and even with 
instructors for their children. The masses of the people were 
treated by the aristocracy with the most insulting pride and 
oppression. The people were restless, and at times almost 
stung to madness and they needed but a leader to rouse them 
to bloody vengeanoet 



160 ITALY. 

Such a leader soon arose. It was Ctdus Memmius. H« 
began by bitterly inveighing against the corruption of the 
nobOity, and claiming for the people a larger share in the 
administration of affairs. The senate was compelled, by the 
popular clamor, to appoint a court of inquiry, and five persons, 
of the highest rank, were punished by fines and banishment. 
Marius, himself a plebeian of the humblest origin, who, in 
spite of tAe scorn of the nobles, had forced his way to the 
head of the army, was conspicuous in his endeavors to bring 
the populace into power, and to humble those from whom the 
lowly in rank had endured so much of contempt and outrage. 

The ever vibrating pendulum of parties was again bringing 
the people into power. Marius had attained the consular 
chair. Satuminus, one of the most profligate of demagogues, 
by effrontery which nothing could abash, and by murder, had 
secured a seat in the tribuneship, and Glaucia, a man of kin- 
dred spirit, was one of the pretors. Both parties in the 
struggle resorted to bribery; and Marius, a successful general, 
overawed opposition by the presence of his anny, who were 
devoted to his person. 

The animosity of the two parties daily increased, and the 
struggle between them grew more fierce. There were fi-e- 
quent tumults in Rome, and antagonistic mobs swept the 
streets. At length there was open war — the masses of the 
people, ignorant, vicious, and degraded on the one side, and 
the aristocracy, rich, insolent, and hopelessly corrupt upon the 
other. Marius, as consul, was forced by his position to admin- 
ister the decrees of the senate, though in heart he was in sym- 
pathy with the populace. The people took possession of the 
capitol, but Mariu6 reluctantly cut off the pipes which supplied 
the city with water, and compelled them to surrender. The 
msurgents, thus taken prisoners, and unarmed, were assailed 
by their foes, and, notwithstanding the efforts of Marius to 
protect them, were all murdered. 

The insurrection of the slaves in Sicily, tc which we have 



THX800IALWAB. 161 

before anuded, and which was quelled about this time, de 
serves more particular notice ; for Sicily was to Italy, what 
Cuba may yet possibly be to us. Large estates had been 
purchased by the Romans in this beautiful and fertile island, 
and these estates were stocked with vast numbers of slaves. 
Eunus, a slave of Syrian birth, had acquired great influence 
among his companions in bondage. The slaves on a neighbor- 
ing plantation, exasperated by the cruelty of their master and 
mistress, applied to Eunus for counsel. He encouraged them 
to conspire with the slaves on the several estates in the neigh- 
borhood, in an immediate revolt, promising to place himself at 
the head of the movement. Four hundred men, armed with 
such weapons as they could suddenly grasp, were speedily 
assembled to strike for freedom. Their masters were smitten 
down, the plantations destroyed, and without an hour's delay 
they marched for the town of Enna. The slaves in the town 
immediately joined them. Enna was taken by storm, set on 
fire, and the indiscriminate slaughter of its free citizens ensued, 
men, women and children, with the exception of such citizens 
as understood the manufacture of arms, whom Eunus reserved 
to supply his followers with weapons. 

The successfol Syrian, thus striking for freedom, and at the 
li^id of a small, determined, but rapidly increasing army, now 
assumed the title of king, and formed a cabinet council, com- 
posed of those of his associates who were most eminent for 
courage and wisdom. In three days six thousand men were 
rallied beneath his banners, heroically resolved to regain their 
liberty or perish in the attempt. Every hour the roused cap- 
tives were rushing from all directions to swell his ranks. The 
example became contagious. In another part of the island 
another sagacious man, named Cleon, roused his fellow-bi nds- 
men to arms, and acknowledging Eunus as king, sent to him 
for orders that he might effectually co5perate in a general 
movement. The Sicilians had no force to meet the crisis. 
Rome sent eight thousand of her veterans to crush the illRu^ 



158 ITALY. 

gents. Eimtis, with oatnmnberiiig bands, urged by IIm 
energies of despair, fell upon them and cut them to pieces. 
Another Roman army was sent, and still another, which met 
with the same fate. 

Several months had now passed away, and the slaves were 
in possession of many of the principal towns in the island. 
The insurrection was so successfol and had become so formi- 
dable, that Rome made a decisive effort to quell it. An over* 
whelming force was sent to Sicily, which first besieged the 
town of Taurominium. With great bravery and skill these 
unfortunate men, who had so nobly struck for freedom, 
repelled every assault until, at last, reduced to the utmost 
extremity by famine, they were unable to resist the rush of 
their foes, and were all mercilessly put to death. The victors 
with floating banners and gory swords, surrounded Enna, tht 
first scene of the revolt, and the stronghold of the insurgents. 
The power brought against them was such that their state 
was hopeless. Cleon was slain in a sally. By famine and the 
sword, Eunus and all his followers soon perished miserably. 
Such is usually the end of a servile insurrection. And yet 
slaves, in their despair, will ever strike for freedom; and 
though they perish in the attempt, they take awftil vengeance 
upon their oppressors. 

The revolt was thus apparently suppressed, yet many 
years the disturbances continued, and there were innumerable 
local insurrections, causing great carnage and unspeakable 
misery. A Roman knight, Titus Minucius, harassed by debt, 
and annoyed by the importunities of his creditors, through 
revenge incited an insurrection, and placed himself at the 
head of three thousand slaves. A bloody battle ensued 
before he was put down. Soon after this, two very able 
slaves, Sabrius and Athenio, headed revolts. Their forces 
were marshaled in well-disciplined bands, and for some time 
they successfully repelled all the power Rome could bring 
against thorn Several Romai: armies were defeated with 



THX flOOIAL WAB* lU 

great loss, and the whole island was sarrendered to blood 
and violence. The poorer class of the free inhabitants 
availed themselves of the general confhsion to indtilge in 
unrestrained license and devastation. This insurrection be- 
came so formidable, that again Rome was compelled to rouse 
her energies. A consular army was sent, which drove the 
insurgents into their strongholds, and then subdued them by 
the slow process of siege. The carnage and misery resulting 
from these servile wars no tongue can tell. The whole power 
of the Roman empire was pledged to put down insurrections ; 
and though the captives could avenge their wrongs and sell 
their lives dearly, it was in vain for them to hope for ultimate 
success. 

A law was now passed prohibiting any slave from carry* 
ing a warlike weapon. Rigorously was this law enforced. 
At one time a boar of remarkable size was sent as a present 
to L. Domidus, then pretor of the island. He inquired who 
had killed it. On being informed that it was a slave, who 
was employed as a shepherd, he summoned the man before 
him, and asked how he had contrived to kill so powerful an 
animal. The shepherd replied thr.t he had killed it with a 
boar spear. The merciless Domicius ordered him imme- 
diately to be crucified for having used a weapon in violation 
of the law. This rigor was pursued so unrelentingly, that, for 
a long period, there were no more revolts. 

The progress of the world to its present state of political 
intelligence has been very slow. A decided advance was 
made when a law was passed declaring that every decree 
should be published on three successive market days, and 
should then be submitted to the vote of the people, not as 
heretofore, tied to other enactments, to be voted for in the 
lump, so that all must be rejected or all accepted, but that 
each clause should be acted o by itself. A sumptuary law 
had been enacted in a time of general distress, when Hannibal 
thundering at the gates of Rome, which regulated the 

1* 



154 ITALT* 

vnouiit of ornament which a lady might be permitted to 
wear, and which forbade the ladies of Rome from udng a 
carriage, except in their attendance upon the public sacrifices. 
This law was called the Oppian law, from Caius Oppius, who 
introduced it. It was, however, repealed as soon as the 
national distress had subsided 

An enactment had also been established some years before, 
limiting the number of guests to be admitted to any enter- 
tainment, and ordering that the doors of the house should be 
left open during the meal, to guard against any secret viola- 
tion of the rule. By a similar decree, the principal citizens 
were obliged to take an oath that they would not expend 
upon any entertainment a sum amounting to more than about 
forty dollars ; and they were not to use any other wine than 
that made in Italy ; and they were not to display up<m their 
tables more than a hundred pounds weight of silver. Many 
very unwise and oppressive laws of this kind had be^i 
enacted^ often descending to the minutest details of domestio 
expenses. 

We now enter upon new troubles, perhaps more replete 
with calamity than Rome had ever experienced before. The 
number of Roman citizens was at this time very small, nearly 
all the subjugated tribes of Italy being deprived of the right 
of suffi-age, and of all voice in the government. They were 
subjects — ^not citizens — enormously taxed, and these taxes 
were collected by men called publicans, or £uiners of the 
revenue, who practiced the most atrocious extortion and 
cruelty. These subjugated tribes sometimes occupied th# 
position of conquered people, who were left to the independ- 
ent administration of their own local laws, but who were 
compelled to pay taxes to Rome, and to send contingents of 
troops in case of war. Thirty-five tribes, in the vicinity of 
Rome, h£.d, in the lapse of time, and in various ways, become 
mcorporated with the kingdom, and had secured the rights 
of citizenship. Occasionally this nrivilege was conferred upoa 



THX SOCIAL WAB. IM 

ft Stranger, as a great honor, in reward of some signal sei^ 
noes. 

Discontent had long been fomenting among the nmnerona 
tribes of Italy, from whom the political franchise was with- 
held. Taxation without representation, seems to have been 
as obnoxious then as now. L. Drusus, a tribune, pleaded their 
cause at Rome. He was deemed a fanatic and an incendiary, 
and was assassinated. This outrage threw these remote 
Italian nations into great excitement. All their hopes were 
blighted, and henceforth, it was feared, there would be no one 
who would dare to plead thdr cause. Thus exasperated, they 
prepared for that conflict which is renowned in history as the 
Social War. It broke out in the year 90 b. c. and lasted 
dghteen years. 

The Italian tribes or nations who formed themselves into 
a confederacy for the redress of their grievances were ten in 
number — ^the Picini, Yestinians, Marrusinians, Marsians, Pe- 
Kgnians, Samnites, Trentanians, Hirpinians, Lucanians, and 
Apulians. The deputies of these nations in revolt, met at 
Asculum, to prepare for the terrible conflict against all the 
power of Rome. Prom the imperial city two legates were 
sent to remonstrate with them. They were both murdered 
by the infuriated insurgents, and, in the blind rage of the 
tumult, all the Roman citizens in the place were put to death. 
The confederates determined that Rome should be utterly 
destroyed, and that all Italy should be formed into one 
republic, with Corfinium for its capital. The government 
was to be administered by two annual consuls, twelve pretors, 
and a senaite of five hundred members. They chose their two 
consuls, Marsian and Mutilus, and marshaled their forces foi 
the war. 

The Roman consuls, this year, were Lucius Julius Ciesar, 
and P. Rutilius Lupus. In the first campaign the Roman 
l^ons were, in almost every battle defeated, and Rome itself 
narrowly escaped falling into the hands of the Italians. The 



IM ITALY 

City was only saved hj the exertions of the powerful Latio 

tribes, whose fidelity was purchased by extending to them the 
rights of citizenship. Having obtained these rights for them- 
selves, ignobly they fought against their brethren, to prevent 
them from securing the same. They acted the part of the 
slave who pays for his own emancipation, by riveting the 
shackles upon the limbs of his brother. The law, granting 
this franchise to the Latins, was called the Julian Law, from 
fts author. The Romans were so severely pressed by the foe, 
that they were constrained to admit emancipated slaves into 
their armies. 

In the campaign of the next year, the Romans were more 
successful. The siege of Asculum was conducted to a suo- 
cessful termination. This caused great exultation at Rome, as 
Asculum had first set the example of revolt. The confederate 
Italians removed their capital to ^semia. A new Roman 
general, Sylla, was now rising rapidly to renown. He was a 
man whose commanding talents and energy were almost 
eclipsed by his profligacy. With the sweep of a hurricane 
he demolished his foes, and in the exultation of success sought 
and obtained the consulship. The confederates, utterly van- 
quished, and having lost all their principal cities, were com* 
pelled to accept terms from the victor. In this brief but 
desperate struggle, the Italians lost more than 300,000 of thdr 
sons ; and many of their most flourishing towns were changed 
to heaps of ruins. The rights of citizenship were, however, 
by thift conflict, greatly extended; but the embers of war 
still slumbered in the bosoms of those whose rights were not 
yet recognized. The newly formed citizens were* organized 
into some eight or ten tribes, and we soon find the total num- 
ber of tribes, composing the free citizens of Rome, amounting 
to fifty. 

Mithridates was, a this time, monarch of Pontas, an ener» 
getic kingdom in the northeast part of Asia Minor. He was 
a man of commanding abilities, and one of the most illustrious 



THX SOCIAL WAB. IH 

fpneralB of tiiat daj. the Romans, during their laO in die 
Social War, picked a quarrel with Mithridates, and sent an 
army, collected from the effeminate inhabitants of Asia Mnor, 
to eonqner bim. Mithridates trampled them down beneath 
the feet of his veterans. Thus victorious, he continued his 
march westward, emanGq>ating subjugated nations from the 
Roman yoke, while the Greeks, with great enthusiasm rallied 
around him. With the characteristic cruelty of those times, 
in one day Mithridates put to death 60,000 Roman citizens, 
whom he had found in Asia Minor. He then dispatched one 
of his generals, Archelaus, with an army flushed with victory, 
into Macedonia and Greece, to drive out the Romans. This 
was in the year 83 b. a Thebes, Athens, and most of the 
important towns of the Grecian peninsula, threw open their 
gates and received Archelaus as their deliverer. 

In the meantime Rome was still ravaged by the most cruel 
mtemal dissoisions. Sulpioius, one of the tribunes, was urging 
upon the government the extension of the r^hts of citizen- 
ship to all the inhabitants of Italy. This was eminently a 
popular measure, though it was abhorred by the aristocracy. 
Sulpidus, thwarted by the nobles, became more violent in his 
proceedings, and anticipating that his foes might soon atten^ 
to crush him, by physical force, he organised a band of his 
determined partisans for his defense. A body of three thou* 
sand gladiators were ready to rally at his call ; and six hun- 
dred young men, of the equestrian order, whom the nobles 
affected to despise, ever atteided him. 

Such was the state of affairs in Rome, whai the news 
arrived that Mithridates had overrun all the Roman dominions 
of Asia Minor. Soon a riot ensued. Sulpioius was victorioui^ 
and the government was compelled to place nearly all the 
Italian nations, whom they had subjugated, on an equality 
with the Romans in the right of voting. The popular party 
was thus agam triumphant. Thus slowly, in all ages, have 
CX>pular rights struggled against aristocratic pnvilege. Sylla, 



108 ITALY 

who had vigOx'ously espoused the cause of the aristocracy, waa 
dismissed from his command in the army, and Marias, a inend 
of the people, was transferred to the vacant post. The soldiers, 
attached to their victorious leader, who had rewarded them 
with plunder, and indulged them in every license, were indig- 
nant ; many assassinations ensued, and finally the army, con- 
eisting of six legions, amounting to about thirty thousand 
men, in a mutiny, broke up its quarters, and, led by Sylla, 
conmienced a menacing march upon Rome. Sylla was at 
this time consul, and he was joined by his colleague Pompeius. 
They approached the city, by stratagem entered the gates, 
and quartered their troops upon the inhabitants. 

Marius and Sulpieius, in their extremity, invited the slaves 
to join them, with the promise of freedom, the highest reward 
which can be offered to a slave. With such force as they 
could raise they threw up barricades, and from the house tops 
iiurled down missiles upon their foes. A woiul warfare was 
now waged in the streets of Rome. Sylla, without scruple, 
set fire to the houses from whence he was assailed, and swept 
the streets with his veteran troops. The populace were 
speedSy vanquished, and Marius and Sulpieius, with their 
principal friends, sought safety in fiight. 

Martial law was established in Rome. Sylla assembled the 
senate, and passed a decree declaring Marius and Sulpieius to 
be public enemies, and offering a reward for their heads. 
Marius, through numberless romantic adventures and hair- 
breadth escapes, succeeded in reaching Africa. Sulpieius, 
betrayed by one of his slaves, was arrested and put to death* 
The popular party, deprived of its leaders, and overawed by 
the presence of the victorious army, submitted without fiirther 
resistance. The laws which had been passed by Sulpieius 
were immediately annulled, and again the aristocratic party 
were in the ascendency. But the struggle for equality of 
rights, in the human breast, is irrepressible. The peoplei 



THE SOCIAL WAS. IM 

Ihoiigli again baffled, were more eager than ever before to 
resume the conflict. 

The next year they succeeded in choosing Cinna to the 
iK)n8ulship, one of the meet able of the advocates of the pop- 
ular interest. His colleague was Octavius, a patrician of the 
aristocracy. Cinna immediately, through the tribunes, threat- 
ened Sylla with a prosecution fbr his assault upon the city. 
To escape this peril, Sylla rejoined his soldiers, and sailed for 
Greece, to escape the storm which threatened him, and to 
arrest, if possible, the alarming career of Mithridates. The 
popular cause was now altogether too strong to be silenced by 
any single defeat. 

Marius, proscribed and an exile, became the idol of the 
people. Immediately upon the departure of Sylla for Greece, 
Cinna rednacted the law of Sulpicius, conferring upon all the 
Italian tribes the rights of citizenship. Great crowds of those 
whom this law was intended to benefit, flocked to Rome, to 
aid, by their swords, should need be, the advocate of their 
cause. Riots soon broke out again in Rome, and great num- 
bers on both sides were killed. Cinna smnmoned the slaves 
to his standard. Octavius, his colleague, headed the senate 
and the aristocratic party. Cinna was overpowered, and with 
his adherents, fled from the capital. The senate,' by an act 
hitherto unprecedented, declared that he had forfeited his con- 
sulship, and they elected another, Cornelius Morula, in his 
stead. 

The country people regarded the cause of Cinna as their 
own. They rallied around him in great numbers, bringing 
with them arms and money. He was soon at the head of quite 
an army, who acknowledged him as their consul^ and took the 
oatn of military obedience to his commands. Multitudes of 
the popular party in Rome repaired to his camp. The Italian 
dties, rc^joicing at so favorable an opportunity of resuming the 
fontest, espoused his cause with the utmost ardor and energy. 
So wide-spread was the mthusiam, that in a short time there 



ITALY. 

were rendezvoused beneath the banners of Cinna, thirty le^ 
gions, amounting to, at least, one hundred and fifty thousand 
men. 

Cinna despatched a messenger immediately to Marius, in 
Africa, inviting his return. The exile, rejoicing at this unex- 
pected turn of fortune, landed in Tuscany with a few follow- 
ers. Assuming the garb and aspect of extreme poverty, he 
appealed to the compassion of the people, who were deeply 
affected by the contrast between his present penury, and the 
splendor with which he formerly hail been invested. He soon 
had an army of six thousand men, with whom he formed a 
junction with Cinna. The senate sent an ai-my to meet the 
foe. A battle was fought, attended with immense slaughter, 
but with no decisive results. The battle took place almost 
beneath the walls of the city. Marius now with his cavalry 
swept the country around Rome, encountering no opposition, 
and cutting off all supplies from the capital. 

The army of the aristocratic party, under the oonmiand of 
Octavius, and an illustrious young general, Metellus, was en- 
trenched, in very considerable force, on the hill of Alba. But 
they did not dare to risk a decisive battle, for they had not 
full confidence in the fidelity of their soldiers ; and a defeat 
would place Rome, with all its proud inhabitants, entirely at 
the mercy of their foes. Cinna, by proclaiming freedom to 
the slaves, found his forces rapidly increasing, while desertions 
were continually taking place from the army of the senate. 
Rome was now so strictly blockaded that the inhabitants 
began tc feel the pressure of famine, and they clamored for 
the cessation of the hopeless struggle. 

The senate, humiliated, were constrained to send to Cinna 
to treat for peace. Cinna, seated in his consular chair, proudly 
received the deputies, exacting from the senate the acknowl- 
edgment that he was legitimately consul, and demanding 
anconditional surrender. Marius stood by hij chair, still 
ostentatiously dressed in the mean garb of exile, while his eyes 



THX SOCIAL WAB. 101 

fhshed with pasBion and with menace. Cinna triumphantly 

entered the walls of Rome, and infamously sent a band of 
soldiers to murder Octavius, his colleague. The deed was 
mercilessly performed, and the head of Octavins was suspend- 
ed over the rostra, a bloody trophy of Cinna's triumph. The 
wheel of revolution had again turned. The aristocratic party 
were in the dust, helpless and hopeless. The popular leaden 
now strode through the streets, looking in vain for an acknowl- 
edged foe. 

Marius proudly refused to enter the city until his sentence 
of exile was regularly repealed. But impatient of the delay, 
which the mockery of a vote required, after a few tribes had 
cast their ballots, he took possession of one of the gates of the 
city, and entered the town at the head of a band, zealously 
devoted to him, consisting principally of peasants and fugitive 
slaves. Then his emissaries inmiediately commenced the work 
of murder. There seems to have been no forgiveness or pity 
in the bosom of the democratic Marius. Those nobles who 
had displeased him were eagerly marked as his victims. They 
were hunted out through all concealments, and in cold blood 
butchered. Some, to escape the da^^r of the assassin, fell 
upon their own swords. Some were slain openly in the 
streets, and it is said that Marius gratified himself with the 
sight of their agony. 

A scene of universal license and anarchy ensued. Slaves 
murdered their masters, plundered their dwellings, and perpe- 
trated every conceivable outrage upon their families. The 
wife and children of Sylla, concealed by their friends, very 
narrowly escaped the general slaughter. Never before had 
Rome endured such misery. In this massacre, Lucius Julius 
Cffisar, and his brother Caius, both perished, and their gory 
heads were exposed over the rostra. Marius, when seated al 
the supper table, was informed that the place of retreat of 
Antonius, whom he had long been seeking, was discovered. 
He immediately arose from the table to enjoy the gratification 



162 ITALY. 

of seeing him killed. But, dissuaded by his friends, he resimi- 
ed his seat, ordering his soldiers to bring him the head of his 
foe. Crassus, after seeing his son murdered, killed himself. 
Merula, who had been chosen consul by the senate in the place 
of Cinna, preferring to die by his own hands, opened his veins, 
and as his blood flowed upon the altar of Jupiter, he invoked 
the vengeance of God upon his murderers. Catulus, who had 
voted for the proscription of Marius, finding that there could 
be no escape from the executioner, suffocated himself by the 
fumes of burning charcoal. 

Cinna and Marius now declared themselves to be consuls 
for the ensuing year, and, like most demagogues, proved 
themselves utterly traitorous to the rights of the people. The 
enormities of Marius, with his servile bands, at length excited 
the indignation of the populace. Cinna was disgusted with 
the atrocities of his colleague, and finding himself utterly 
unable to check them, he one night secretly assembled a body 
of troops, and attacking the band of Marius in their quarters, 
put them all to the sword. Marius was precluded from 
revenge by a sudden attack of disease, which put an end. to 
his life, in the seventieth year of his age. In the delirium oi 
his dying hour, he imagined himself at the head of his legions^ 
hurHng them against the ranks of Mithridates. With vehe- 
ment gestures, and loud shouts which were heard far into the 
streets, he issued his commands. Though the light of revealed 
religion had never dawned upon his mind, no one can doubt 
his responsibility at God's bar for his manifold crimes. 

Cicero relates that at the funeral of Marius, a furious man, 
lamed Fimbria, made an attempt upon the life of Scaevola, one 
of the most virtuous men of those times. The victim escaped 
with but a flesh wound. Fimbria, exasperated, declared that 
tie would bring Scaevola to trial before the people. Being 
asked what charge he would bi-ing against one whose char- 
acter was so pure, he replied, ^^I shall accuse him of not 



TRX 800IAL WAS. 169 

kaEvbig giTen mj dagger a more hearty wetocme.*^ Such was 
the condition of Rome at this time. 

Marias being dead, Cinna remained absolute sovereign, with 
no on« to dispute his power. The massacres had now ceased, 
and to restore the usual forms of the constitution, Flaccus was 
chosen colleague consul with Cinna. The condition of Rome 
under this democratic sway much resembled that subsequently 
witnessed in Paris during the Reign of Terror. Many of the 
nobles left Italy, and sought refuge in the camp of Sylla, in 
Greece ; while others fled trembling, from the dangers of the 
city to their country seats. Cicero describes the three years 
which succeeded the victory of Cinna as a period in which 
the republic ei\joyed neither dignity nor laws. 

Cicero Wos at this time at Rome, devoting himself to the 
study of eloquence and philosophy, and laying up those stores 
of wisdom and knowledge which enabled him subsequently to 
fulfill so brilliant a career. A curious sort of bankrupt law 
was passed by the democratic government, by which a debtor 
was allowed to liquidate all claims against him by paying one 
fourth of the amount. The provinces accepted, without oppo- 
sition, the government established in the metropolis. But 
Sylla, at the head of his army in Greece, was breathing threats 
of vengeance. Openly he declared his intention, so soon as 
he should finish the war with Mithridates, to return to Rome, 
and punish with the utmost severity Cinna and his supporters. 
Sylla soon reconquered all Greece, and crossing over to Asia 
Minor, prosecuted the war with such vigor that Mithridates 
was glad to accept terms of peace. 

Cinna began now to manifest alarm, and apprehensive of 
the return of Sylla with a victorious army, commenced en- 
deavors to concOiate the rich, whose heads he had so long 
been crushing with his heel. It wm evident that the wheel 
of fortune was about to experience another revolution. Cinna 
was not a man to fall without a struggle. He raised an 
army ta orush Sylla; but paUio opinion, even in the army 



£64 ITALY. 

tamed against him. Ilie soldiera rose in a mntiny and Ciiiiiai 
in his endeavors to quell it, was slain. Sylla soon landed it- 
Italy, with forty thousand men. This was a small force, with 
which to meet the two hundred thousand whom the populai 
party had raised to oppose him, but they were veteran sol- 
diers, flushed with victory, and the whole aristocratic party- 
was ready to join them. 

Sylla landed at Brundusium, where he encountered no 
opposition. Immediately conmiendng his march upon Rome, 
he advanced through Calabria and Apulia. The two armies 
met near Capua, and the whole consular army in a body went 
over to the aristocratic Sylla, leaving their commander Scipio, 
alone with his son, in his tent ; a memorable instance of popu- 
lar fickleness and caprice. With new vigor Sylla pressed on 
toward Rome, wantonly ravaging the country through which 
he passed. The nobiUty were on all sides flocking to his camp ; 
and Carbo, who had been the consular colleague of Cinna, 
to check this spirit, caused a decree to be passed, that all who 
united with Sylla, should be declared to be public enemies. 

And now Cn. Pompeius, or as he is generally called. Pom- 
pey the Great, first makes his appearance upon this stage of 
wild adventure. He was the son of .a late proconsul of that 
name, and he lived at Picenum, in circumstances of moderate 
wealth. The family was popular in the region of tlieir resi- 
dence. The sympathies of Pompey were strongly with Sylla^ 
and he warmly espoused the aristocratic side, in this stem 
strife. With the energy which rendered his subsequ^it life so 
illustrious, he raised an array of three legions, amounting to 
about seventeen thousand men, and with the necessary suppliea 
marched to join Sylla. He was then but twenty-three years 
of age, and had never filled any public office. Sylla appre- 
ciated the extraordmary energy of one so young, and received 
him with the most flattering marks of distinction. By this 
time, however, the campaign weather of sunmier had passed 
away and all the belligerents retired to winter quarters. 



TRB BOOIAL WAB, IM 

Carbo, who was now consul, secured the election, as his 
eoUeague, of the younger Marius, the nephew and adopted 
son of the renowned demagogue of that name. Though 
Marius was but twenty-seven years of age, he was already 
renowned for his profligacy. The winter was long and severe, 
and it was not until late in the spring that military operations 
were resumed. Soon a division of the consular army, under 
Marius, encountered Sylla, at Sacriportum, near the city of 
PrsBneste. Their defeat was entire. Marius having lost twenty 
thousand slain, and eight thousand prisoners, with difficulty 
escaped. In the tumult of the rout, it was not safe to open 
the gates of Prseneste, and Marius was drawn up into the 
city by ropes thrown down to him from the top of the wall. 

Marius had fixed on Prsoneste as the great rendezvous of 
his army, and the point from which he would sally forth in all 
his operations. The town, built on the side of a MQ, but 
twenty miles from Rome, was almost impregnable in its forti- 
fications. The battlements of Prreneste were distinctly visi- 
ble from the eternal city. Marius, during the winter, had 
added greatly to the strength of the place, haviag robbed the ' 
temples of Rome, that he might convert the treasure into 
money to pay his soldiers. As Sylla advanced with his vet- 
eran legions, Marius, conscious that the aristocratic party in 
the capital would, at the first opportunity, rise to welcome and 
join him, sent a summons for the senate to assemble in the 
Curia Hostilia. Unconscious of the premeditated treachery 
the nobles obeyed the summons. Marius then closed the 
avenues by armed men, and designated those whom he wished 
to be massacred. Three iUustrous senators were struck down 
in the senate house. One was killed in attempting to escape 
Qnintus Mucins ScsBVola, who was then Pontifex Maximus, 
the same who had been attacked by the fimatio Fimbria, a 
man of spotless character, yet renowned for his heroism, see* 
ing a party advancing to murder him, fled to the temple of 



IM ITALY. 

Vesta. He was pursued and cat down, whh saerSegiona 

hands, drenching the altar with his blood. 

The most prominent of the aristocratic party being thus 
■lain, Marius and Carbo hoped to retain their supremacy. Bat 
the terrible defeat of Sacriportmn blighted all these anticipa- 
tions. Marias was now blocked up in PrsBneste, and the road 
was open for Sylla to Rome. The gates of the dty were 
thrown open to him, and he rode triumphantly into the streets, 
greeted by the acclamations of those who but a few months 
before had d^iounced him as a rebel and an outlaw. 

The wheel of fortune had indeed revolved again. Sylla 
organized his government, replenished his military chests with 
the proceeds of the confiscated estates of the popular party, 
and leaving a portion of his army to conduct the siege of 
Pneneste, with another portion hastened to Tuscany to con- 
front Carbo, who was strongly entrenched there. Victory 
seemed every where to light upon his banners. Desertiok 
tiiinned the ranks of Carbo, and treachery surrendered whd« 
divisions of his army to the foe. Verres, whose infamy Cicero 
has embalmed in the amber of his eloquence, aband(Hied Ins 
general, and purchased the pardon of Sylla, by the treasure of 
money and military stores which he surrendered to his hands. 
Carbo, thus deserted, fled, and taking a boat with a few &^ 
lowers, escaped to Africa. 

T^e triumph of the aristocratical party now seemed com- 
plete, and yet at this last moment one of those sudden turns 
of fortune, which often baffle all the calculations of human 
wisdom, came nigh to wrest the victory from their hands. 
The Italian allies, who had thus &r looked quietly on, well 
pleased to see Roman slaughter Roman, were alarmed at the 
decisive victory which the nobles were gaining, for they knew 
full well that the triumph of the aristocratic party would toll 
the knel! of their rights. They immediately combined and 
hastened to the relief of PraBueste. The wrecks of Carbons 
army rushed to their standards. The pop^ilar party all over 



THE SOCIAL WAB. 16f 

Italy were animated to new courage, and sprang to armeu 
Sagaciouslj and secretly they resolved to make a bold strike 
for Rome, which, not having the slightest apprehension of such 
an attack, w^s quite defenseless. 

Breaking up suddenly, in a dark night, from before the 
walls of Prseneste, the dawn of the morning found them in mili- 
tary array within a mile of the gates of Rome, marching enei^ 
getically toward the Colline gate. Rome was in consternation. 
All the young men of the city formed into a body of cavalry, 
sallied from the walls to hold the foe in check till aid could 
arrive from PrsBneste. But they were routed and driven back 
with great slaughter. In the midst of the confusion and car- 
nage, the peal of trumpets was heard, and the gleam of ban- 
ners was seen in the distance, and nearly a thousand helmed 
and veteran horsemen, from Sylla's legions, came thundering 
upon the plain. Behind them Sylla himself followed, leading 
his infantry, panting, with their almost superhuman exertions, 
and upon the full run. It was indeed a wild scene of turmoil, 
damor and blood, upon which the unclouded sun looked down 
that morning, so different from the quietude upon which its 
evening rays had fallen, when no sound disturbed the song of 
the bird and the chirp of the insect, and the fields slumbered 
in solitude. 

The Italian chieftains rode along their ranks shouting, 
" Victory is ours. This is the last day of the Roman empire. 
The wolves who have so long ravished Italy shall now be des- 
troyed, and their den demolished.*' But God had not so 
decided. 



OflAPTBR IX. 

STIiLA AND OATILIVB. 
Fboh 82 b. a to 68 b. a 

Bxvna Ijhdsb thb Walls.— Triumph of Stlla.— Oaiub Julrts Ojbab.— Dbath of 
Mabiub.— Mamaobs at PxAirwTx.— MuftioH or Pompbt.— Abdioatiok or Atlla. 

— His Dbath.— Poliot oy Lkpidus. — ^Triumph op Aristooract.— Caito Julivi 
CiUAR.— OiBSAR A Bambomxd Blavr.— Hx Espousrb thb Popitlar €avsr«— 
Charaotkr of Pouprt. — ^Spartaods AMD HIS Bawd.— His Prfrat aro Draxb.— 
Thr Slavr Tradr.— iLLUBTRATiyx Anrodotr. — PoMPRY Crushks thr Piratrb.— 
Toe CoBflnRAOT or Catuohb. 

fTlHE battle beneath the walls of Rome was as fierce as fury 
-■- and despair could make it. Throughout the whole day 
it raged with unintermitted ferocity, until darkness enveloped 
the gory field. The combatants, utterly exhausted, threw 
themselves upon the sod and slept side by side, neither party 
knowing which, upon the whole, had sufiTered most in the 
fight. But the light of the morning revealed more ftdly the 
issue of the battle. The field was covered with the dead 
bodies of the allies, and, in confiision, the broken bands of the 
survivors commenced a retreat. Sylla, gathering recroita 
fi'om Prseneste, pursued them with merciless slaughter, and 
then, returning in triumph, entered the gates of Rome, where 
he perpetrated deeds of cruelty and blood which have con- 
signed his memory to eternal infamy. The detail of his 
enormities woiild alike weary, disgust, and shock the reader. 
Human nature presents itself in its most pitiable aspect in all 
thesp scenes. 

A division of the routed army of the Italians, three thou- 
sand in nimiber, sent to Sylla imploring mercy. He promised 
to spare them if they would aid him in executing vengeance 



8TLLA AND OATILINB. 169 

on their associAtes. Infiunoiisly they accepted the terms, and 
ftQ npon their former companions, aidipg the soldiers of Sylia 
in catting them to pieces. They were all then, with other 
prisoners, amomiting to eight thousand, put to the sword. 
The in&my of SyDa is not mitigated by the infamy of those 
who received the doom of treachery, having perpetrated its 
deedtu 

While this massacre was transpiring, Sylla summoned the 
senate, and addressed them with the atmost heartlessni>8s, 
even when the shrieks of his victims were resounding through 
the streets. Observing that the senators appeared horror- 
stricken, he sternly commanded them not to trouble them- 
selves with what was passing elsewhere, but to attend to his 
words. The same chastisement, with aggravated vengeance, 
was now meted out to the popular party, which they, in the 
hour of their triumph, had visited upon their foes. Every 
day witnessed its hecatomb of victims. Each morning Sylla 
issued his proscription list, containing the names of those his 
soldiers were immediately to butcher. All laws were tram- 
pled under foot, and SyUa, an inexorable tyrant, as the advo- 
cate of the nobles of Rome, exercised a despotism which in 
mercilessness has never been surpassed. 

These horrible scenes of cold-blooded murder were not 
confined to Rome alone, but extended all over Italy. Sylla 
seemed resolved to destroy every man who could be suispected 
even of advocating popular rights. M. Cato, then a mere 
boy, was roused to the utmost indignation by the spectacle 
of these crimes. 

There was one young man, the renown of whoso name 
subsequently filled the world, who narrowly escaped the 
sword of Sylla. It was Caius Julius CsBsar. He was then 
quite young, and had married the daughter of Cinna. The 
elder Marius was also his unde, having married his Other's 
sister. Caius Julius GsBsar was thus intimately connected 
with the poptdv party. The eagle scrutiny of Sylla had 



170 ITAIT. 

searched him out, and he was commanded to repudiate hid 
urife. Reifosing to comply, he fled from Rome. SoLdierA 
were ^3nt in pursuit of him to bring his head to Sylla, but by 
the entreaties of some friends, the tyrant consented to spare 
his life. And though tradition says that he affirmed, ^^iu. 
CsBsar there are many Mariuses," it is not probable that he 
was at all conscious of the energetic spirit he had spared, to 
place its broad and deep impress upon the world. 

The garrison at Praeneste was soon compelled to surrender. 
Marius was beheaded, and his bleeding head was presented a 
welcome trophy to Sylla. He ordered it to be exposed in 
the forum. Thinking that now all his foes were vanquished, 
and that his power was invincible, and his elevation beyond 
all peril of fall, he assumed the surname of Felix, or The 
Fortunate. Immediately upon the surrender of Praeneste, 
Sylla hastened to the place to enjoy the executions he had 
ordered. Twelve thousand men were given up to massacre. 
The women and children were turned into the fields, houseless 
and foodless, and the town was abandoned to plunder. Sylla 
enjoyed this so much, and his soldiers were so pleased with 
the wealth they gained, that the same course was pursued 
with seven other large cities. All the inhabitants who were 
not massacred, were sold for slaves. The entire nation of the 
Samnites were almost entirely extirpated by the proscriptions 
of Sylla. 

Without any shadow of legitimate power, Sylla thus filled 
Italy, through all its provinces, with blood and ruin. Carbo, 
from Africa, fled to Sicily, hoping to rally a party there to make 
a stand against a tyrant who had been even more tyrannical 
and cruel than himself. Pompey was dispatched across the 
straits to meet him. His energy was successful, and Carbo 
was driven from the island. He was pursued, taken prisoner, 
and brought into the presence of Pompey at Lilybaeum. 
Pompey, regardless of the consular dignity of his captive, 
ordered him to immediate execution. The republic was thus 



8TLLA AHB OATILIKB. Itl 

left wHhoiit a oonsnl ; and a saooeflsfiil general, supported by 
Mb army, was at the head of the state. Sylla, instead ot 
proceeding to the decti<Hi of consota, oaoaed himself to be 
^>pointed by the senate, dictator, for an anSmited period, 
nnti] tranquillity and secnrity should be restored to the aifidn 
of the commonwealth. No one dared to offer a word of 
resistance. 

Bat again clouds of darkness and war began to gather in 
distant lands. Mithridates was reassembling his forces, Afiioa 
was agitated and roused with the desire to drive out the 
Romans ; and in Spain, the spirit of rerolt had sprung up and 
spread with great rapidity and success. The power of the 
dictator, undisputed in Italy, could not overawe these distant 
reahns. The popular cause in Italy, was apparently anni- 
hilated, and the commonwealth lay bleeding and gasping at 
tho feet of its conqueror. The great object of Sylla, in all 
his measures, was to strengthen the aristocratic party, and to * 
crush democratic freedom. The senate had been a legislative 
body. Sylla transferred to it judicial power. Some of the 
laws, which, with untiring industry, he enacted were salutary 
fai thdr operation. 

Pompey passed over to Africa, and by the energies of fire 
and sword, in one year quelled all insubordination there. He 
returned to Rome plumed with victory, and enjoyed the 
luxury of a triumph. Sylla now caused himself and one of 
his obsequious partisans, Q. Metellus Pius, to be chosen con- 
suls. With great sagacity be established his authority and 
consolidated his party ; and then, with all the reins of power 
cellected in his hands, to be placed at will in the hands of his 
creatures, he nominally renounced his office of dictator. This 
abdication of Sylla, so renowned in history, seems to have 
been anything but a noble act. It is true he had accomplished 
his ends. The popular party was apparently annihilated, and 
the aristocracy were in the entire ascendency. His partisans 
were all enriched by the sale of confiscated estates ; his sot 



m ITALY. 

diers were extravagantly rewarded by grants of land, and he 
had retained for himself more than regal wealth and luxury. 
He was still the acknowledged head of his party, and renoun- 
cing only its toQs, and empty title, still retained in reality both 
sovereign dignity and power. 

Sylla, retiring from the labors of office, surrendered him- 
self to the utmost excesses of sensual and voluptuous mdul- 
gence. His associates were generally only those who had 
talents and attractions to gild the vices of which they 
boasted. His leisure hours he devoted to the composition 
of his own memoirs, bringing down the narrative untU 
within a few days of his death. But little more than a year 
elapsed, after his abdication, ere he was attacked by a loath- 
some disease, the effect of his vices, and died, devoured by 
vermin, in a state of the most absolute :and unmitigated 
misery. His funeral was attended with much parade in the 
Campus Martins, and, at his own request, his body was 
burned. The nobility of Rome, and especially the ladies, 
vied with each other in their endeavors to confer honor upon 
the memory of him who had so effectually reestablished aris- 
tocratic usurpation in the eternal city. His life signally illus- 
trates the truth that literary and intellectual eminence of the 
highest order may be combined with the lowest and most 
brutal profligacy. It is only that " wisdom," the beginning of 
which is " the fear of the Lord," which is the unerring guide 
to virtue. 

Inmiediately upon the death of Sylla, the popular party, 
weak as it was, made an attempt to rally and to obtain a 
repeal of some of the most obnoxious laws of the aristocratic . 
dictator. The two consuls at this time were Lepidus and 
Catulus. From some unknown influence, perhaps conscien- 
tiousness, Lepidus manifested some sympathy for the popular 
cause, and openly denounced several of the most oppressive 
measures introduced by Sylla. Growing more and more'bold, 
as friends incre««ed, he became the leader of those who were 



STLLA AKB OATILINX. 173 

now fisdiitly hoping for a connter-reyolution. The broken 
bands of the Italian allies were summoned to thdr aid. The 
two consols, taking opposite sides, were arrayed in bitter 
hostility against each other, and Rome was again threatened 
with civil war. 

The aristocratic senate, jealous of the increasing power of 
Lepidus, at the dose of his consulship allowed him to take 
oommand, as proconsul, of the distant province of Cisalpine 
Gaul, thinking that he would be thus removed to a safe dis- 
tance from Rome. Here Lepidus found himself at the head 
of a strong army ; adventurers from Rome and its vicinity 
hastened to his camp, and soon he commenced a menacing 
march towards the capital. An army was sent to meet him. 
He was utterly defeated, and retiring in dejection to Sardinia, 
there soon died. One of his officers, who shared in this defeat, 
was Brutus, father of the one who has attained world-wide 
celebrity as the assassin of Csdsar. This elder Brutus was 
taken prisoner of war and put to death. 

The popular movement was thus effectually quelled, and 
aristocracy was more firmly established than ever. But the 
conflict could never cease. So long as one portion of the 
community is resolved to trample upon the rights of another, 
. there must be an undying struggle. And this irrepressible 
conflict must burst out into bloody war, whenever the op- 
pressed see any chance to smite their oppressors. The recog- 
nition of man's fraternity, and the admission of equal rights 
for all, would have saved this world unnumbered woes. This 
crud strife, which commenced with Cain and Abel, has con- 
tinued to the present day. In this conflict America has had 
her Washington, France her Napoleon, and Rome her Cains 
Julius CsBsar, each, under different institutions, and with 
varying success, was the champion of popular rights. 

The family of Csesar was ancient and illustrious. Cidus, 
the one to whom the name chiefly owes its renown, was the 
80Q of LaduB Julius Cssar, a noble of pretorian rank, and of 



IM ITALY. 

Aurelia Cotta, a lady also of illostrions lineage. He was bom 
about one hundred years before the birth of Christ. As we 
have before mentioned, he married, in early life, the daughter 
of Cinna, and very narrowly escaped the proscription of Sylla. 
He first drew his sword in Asia Minor, in the war again^ 
Mithridates. After this he, from time to time, studied, pro* 
bably in company with Cicero, at Rhodes, under the instruction 
of Apollonius Molo. On one of his excursions he was taken 
prisoner by some Greek pirates, and was ransomed by the 
payment of a sum amounting to nearly sixty thousand dollars. 
The energetic young man immediately raised a small naval force, 
and, on his own responsibility, pursued the pirates, sank several 
of their ships, and capturing others, returned with them, and 
a large number of prisoners, to his own land. He then de- 
manded of the authorities permission to execute them. But 
finding that the government, influenced by avarice, was rather 
inclined to sell them as slaves, Caesar, without waiting for a 
reply to his application, caused them all to be put to death. 

He early manifested hostility to the tyrant Sylla, and even 
ventured, in the height of the despot's power, to bring a 
charge of corruption against one of his officers. Though 
unsuccessfiil in his suit, as was to have been expected, the bold- 
ness of the act gave him distinction as the foe of the aristoc- 
racy, and the friend of popular freedom. Upon the death of 
his wife Cornelia, the daughter of Cinna, he pronounced an 
eulogy upon her character, which, for its polished diction and 
glowing eloquence, excited great admiration. We have before 
mentioned that his father's sister married Marius. At her 
death, though Marius had been denounced as a traitor, he or- 
dered that his image, in accordance with the Roman custom, 
should be borne in the procession at her funeral. The nobles 
were enraged, but the populace were delighted, justly regard- 
mg this as the pledge of his devotion to their cause, and the 
image of Marius was greeted with enthusiastic acclaim. 

It IS recorded that at this time he was a man of profligate 



STIiLA AKD OATILINS. ITS 

kabits ; indeed the whole Roman world, with but rare excep- 
tions, appeam to have been in the condition of pollution and 
mfamy, which Paul has so graphically described in his epistle 
to the Romans. We can see bnt little difference in that res- 
pect between aristocrat and democrat — ^between Marius and 
Sylla. They were struggling against each other for' the 
supremacy, and each was equally unprincipled in the hour 
of triumph. 

Pompey was at this time, as the agent of the aristocratio 
party, quelling an insurrection in Spain, and having, with his 
characteristic energy, accomplished his purpose, he was per- 
mitted to enjoy the luxury of a triumph ; and was alao addi- 
tionally rewarded with a seat in the consular chair. As 
Pompey had maintained his army exclusively from the spoils 
of war, Spain was left in a state of utter destitution. Pompey, 
in his passage to Gaul, had punished the Gauls with mercilesa 
severity for espousing the cause of Lepidus, against the aris- 
tocracy at Rome ; and this vast province also was thus now 
desolate and impoverished. 

A curious incident, highly characteristic of the times, merits 
notice. About seventy gladiators, prisoners of war, were in 
training at Capua, for the bloody gladiatorial shows at Rome. 
They, in a body, broke away from their keepers, and encoun- 
tering on the road some wagons with arms and supplieSi 
seized them, and retreating to the heights of Mt. Vesuvius, 
Strongly intrenched themselves there. Spartacus was the 
chosen leader of this band. Every day their numbers increas- 
ed by the accession of fugitive slaves, and the impoverished 
and restless populace of Rome. Spartacus soon had a band 
so numerous and well disciplined, that he marched from behind 
his ramparts, and plundering the cities of Campania, endeav- 
ored to effect a retreat to the distant Alps. A Roman army 
was sent to attack him. He turned upon his foes with the 
bound of a Uon, and crushed them to the dust. Another army 
was sent. It encouxtered the same &te. Proudly he now 



IM ITALT. 

ftit>de (Mi,nnappo0ed, toward the defiles of C%»IpiiieGaiiL Bnl 
here he found a third army, which he ako promptly assailed 
and demolished. 

Intoxicated by these snccesaes, and at the head of an army 
rapidly increasing in numbers, Spartacus dreamed that he was 
able to cope with all the powers of Rome, and to conquer eyes 
Uie eternal city. Wheeling aromid his battalions, notwith- 
standing their remonstrances, he began to retrace his steps^ 
Soon he was compelled to retire to winter quarters, maintain- 
ing his soldiers by the plunder of the surrounding country. 
The senate was now thoroughly aroused. A powerfVd army 
was organized during the winter. In the early spring Sparta- 
cus was attacked, cut off from his retreat to the north, and 
driyen, with his broken bands to the south of Italy. Here he 
attempted to construct rails to float his followers over to 
Keily, hoping to rouse the slayes to join his standards. But 
Crassus, who led the Roman force, yigorously pursued him, 
and Spartacus was blockaded on a small promontory near 
Rhegium. Finding escape by sea hopeless, in a dark aad 
stormy night he crept unobserved, with his diminished col- 
umns, through the enemy's line, and directed his retreat 
toward the fastnesses of the Lucanian mountains. Crassus 
vigorously pursued* A desperate battle took place, and the 
army of Spartacus was cut to pieces, he himself perishing with 
the slam. The cruel victor lined the road from Capua to Rome, 
with the crucified bodies of the prisoners, who were thus left 
to perish in the lingering agonies of that most terrible of 
deaths. 

At this period the whole Mediterranean Sea swarmed 
with pirates, who, emerging from eaves and creepmg cau- 
tiously around headlands, baffled all the naval power of 
Rome. The slave trade was then in vigor, which has never 
been surpassed, though it was almost exclusively confined to 
the Caucasian race. The purates of Cihcia, in Asia Minor, aA 
ikm iMt ci the Mt. Tannw range, ravaged ail shores, and 



8TLLA AND CATILINE. iVt 

sapplied abundantly, and on the most reasonable terms, the 
great slaveholders of Italy with men, women, and children. 
By night they wonld make an assault upon some sequestered 
hamlet, strike down all who resisted, fire the dwellings, and 
convey the residue to the great slave market at Delos, in the 
Mgean Sea, where purchasers flocked from all parts of the 
Roman empire, asking no questions, for conscience sake^ 
respecting the manner in which the slaves had been obtained. 
How they defended the institution we have not been in- 
formed. Thei/ did not know that Noah, in his cups, had 
said, '* Cursed be Ham;" and as Jesus Christ had not yet 
appeared, they could not blasphemously pervert His words 
to support this system of demoniac atrocity. Probably, in 
unblushing honesty of infamy, they simply exclaimed, '^ Might 
makes right." 

These wretched slaves, packed in the holds of pirate ships 
constructed for rapidity of sailing, were often persons of 
fortune, distinction, and education. Caius Julius Caesar had 
been thus captured, and was a slave, who, not being able to 
run away, purchased his freedom, paying for it sixty thousand 
dollars. These pirates were as ready to steal money as men, 
and property of every kind was seized by them without 
scruple. Rome was too deeply interested in the slave trade 
to act with determination against those who supplied the 
mart, and hence for ages the shores of the Mediterranean, in 
the prosecution of this traffic, blazed with conflagrations and 
were crimsoned with blood. 

These pirates were so numerous and formidable that they 
often made descents from their ships and attacked fortified 
towns. About the year 70 b. c, one Heradeo, with four 
piratic ships, captured and burnt several Roman ships sent 
to oppose him, and after ravaging the coasts of Sicily at hi? 
pleasure, entered, in triumph and defiance, the harbor of 
Syracuse. Descents were frequently made upon the coasts 
of Italy. The brother of M. Antony was once sent in ooin- 

8* 



Jt3 ITALY, 

mand of an ezpedidon against them. During his absence the 
pirates landed by night at Misenum, seized the children of 
Antony, and carried them off as slaves. The distracted 
father rescued his children from bondage only by paying an 
enormous ransom. At one time these slave-trading pirates 
even entered the Tiber, and captured a Roman fleet within 
twenty miles of the capital. History gives us the names of 
four hundred cities which had been captured by these slavers. 
The condition of humanity then must have been miserable 
indeed. Pirates ravaged the seas, and Roman governors, 
still more remorseless, ravaged the land. 

The triumph of Sylla had greatly aggravated the excesses 
of the governing power. The laws were almost entirely 
inoperative against any amount of extortion and corruption. 
One incident will show how powerless were the weak against 
the strong. Yerres, as questor, was sent on a mission to the 
king of Bithynia. Passing through Lampsacus, in Greece, he 
was informed that a gentleman there had a daughter of very 
rare beauty. He determined to take her for himself, and 
sent one of his vile and obsequious attendants, in ^irtherance 
of his plans, to lodge with Philodamus for the night. He 
was entertained with great hospitality, and at his request 
several of his companions were invited to sup with him. 
When heated with wine they demanded that the beautiful 
daughter should be brought forward and exhibited to them, 
intending to seize her. According to the Grecian customs 
nothing could be more indecent and insulting than such an 
exposure Hie father indignantly refused. His Roman 
guests, aided by their slaves, endeavored to accomplish their 
purpose by violence. The father, assisted by his son, fought 
valiantly to protect his daughter. In the fray one of the 
Romans was killed and several of the slaves were wounded. 
The people in the neighborhood rallied and protected the 
fitfudly. Bat the &ther and son were both condemned and 



SYLLA AND CATILINB. l79 

beheaded. Cicero records this enormity, with others even 
more atrocious, against Verres. 

When Pompey appeared in Rome, as a successfiil general, 
seeking the consulship, the people welcomed him, hoping that 
they might secure him as their leader He made them flatter- 
ing promises, was elected by acclaim, and repealed, as one of 
his first measures, the most obnoxious of Sylla's laws, and 
restored the tribuneship — ^the popular branch of the govern- 
ment. By this act he secured great popularity. At the close 
of the year, as his consulship terminated, he declined accept- 
ing any other office, and remained in Rome a private citizen, 
opulent and generally revered. 

The outrages of the piratic slave ctealers had now become 
intolerable, and Gabinius, one of the tribunes, proposed that 
the war with the pirates, should be intrusted to jne person 
for three years ; that his power should extend to every part 
of the empire, with dictatorial authority to raise men and 
money; and that Pompey should be intrusted with this 
extraordinary command. Gabinius was a partisan of Pompey, 
and was acting under his guidance. The people eagerly 
advocated this measure. The nobles were alarmed, for it 
had now become evident that he was courting popular favor. 
The senate began to threaten Gabinius, and the mob to 
threaten the senate. The decree, after a severe struggle, 
was carried, and Pompey passed the whole winter in most 
energetic preparations to commence, in the early spring, his 
war upon the pirates. With a large fleet, ahnost before the 
storms of winter had ceased, he scoured the coasts of Sicily 
and of A&ica, and thence sailed for Sardinia, leaving at aU 
these places ships to guard important points, and detachments 
of troops upon the shore. So vigorously did he proceed, that 
but six weeks were employed in this enterprise. 

The pirates, thus driven from their haunts in those regions 
of the Mediterranean, gradually drew back toward Cilidai 
^ere the/ were intrenched in ahnost sufficient power to bid 



180 ITALY. 

defiance even to Pompey. But the indomitable warrior pur 
sued them; and conscious that he must expect determined 
resistance, he went provided with all the apparatus for con- 
ducting sieges. To his surprise he found the pirates over- 
awed by his military renown, and they sarrendered almost 
without any show of oppoution. 

With great wisdom and mercy, Pompey fdlowed up his 
Tiatorj. All the slaves he found in their hands he freed; 
took possession of all their resources for evil, and then estab- 
lished measures to reclaim the inhabitants from their guilty 
and wretched habits of lift) Some of the pirates he removed 
into the interior, and endeavored to encourage them in the 
cultivation of the soil. In seven weeks from the time he 
sailed from Italy for the east, the sea was swept dean of 
every piratic craft, and measures were in successful operation 
permanently to change the habits and characters of those who 
had so long been scourges of humanity. 

The magnificent island of Orete had until now maintained 
its independ^ice. But a Itoman army was at this time over* 
running it, with every prospect of speedily effecting its sub- 
jugation. The Cretans, hearing of the wisdom and mercy 
of Pompey, sent a del^ation to him at Cilicia, requesting him 
to come and receive their submission. Pompey was more 
than willing to accede to thdr request, and sent one of his 
lieutenants, Octavius, to take possession of the island. But 
Metellus, who was in command of the Roman legions there, 
spui-ned the message, and crushing down all opposition, with 
militaiy exactions and executions of the utmost cruelty, 
brought the whole island in subjection to his feet. 

The popular party was now again advancing, and the arui- 
tocracy at Rome, in their alarm, opposed every measure of 
refoi-m, however reasonable or salutary it might be. The 
people were now looking to Pompey as their friend. Mani 
lius, one of the tribunes, proposed that as Pompey had bean 
•o Boocessful in ^/erminating the pirado war, he should be 



0TLLA AVD CATILINB. Ml 

tBtnuted with the sole numagement of the wjo* aguiif . Mithii- 
dates md Tigranes. This was the fiunous Maniliaa law. It 
was bitterly opposed by the nobles geowally ; but bodi CsBsar 
and Cioero advocated it, and it was carried. 

LucLiis Serguis Catiline, a man of worid-wide notoriety 
throngh the eloqaenoe of Cicero, now first makes his appear- 
ance upon the historic stage. He offered himself as a candi- 
date £qt the consnli^p. But the senate pronomiced lum 
ineligible, as he was then under accusation for misconduct in 
the government of a province in Asia. Exasperated by this 
rejection, he conspired with two companions of congenial 
profligacy, to murder the two consuls-elect, Cotta and Man- 
lius, on the first of January, as they were taking thmr oaths 
of office. Cadline, and one of his confederates Ausanius, 
were then to seiae the consular dignity for themsdves, while 
the third conspirator Piso, was to be dispatched to ^Mun to 
secure that province. The plot was suspected and its execu- 
tion was consequently postponed to the fifth of February, when 
it was intended not only to murder the consuls, but a large 
part of the senators. Again, by some misunderstanding, the 
plot was frustrated. Both CHcero and Sallust mention thib 
eonspsracy as universally known, yet the conspirators being 
baffled, strangdy were not punished. 

Two years afi)er this Catiline again offered himself for the 
consulship. He had been <»ie of Sylla's most merdless agents 
in his proscriptions. Profligacy had reduced him to indigence, 
and in the desperate state of his a£^8 he was ripe for any 
remunerative crime. He was of patrician birth, and polluted 
with even an unusual share of the vices at that time character 
istic of his dass. Many young nobles, his boon companiona 
in debauchery, were accomplices in his treasonable plots. The 
Of^ressionB of the nobles had filled the land with restless 
i^irits. The confiscations of Sylla had deprived thousands of 
their property, and these impoverished multitudes had some- 
Atata to hope for^ and nothing to lose by revolution. It is dm 



IM ITALY. 

recorded that there were many women of distingnished rank, 
out of utterly polluted lives, ruined by extravagance and dis- 
sipation, who were ready to use poison or the dagger, even 
against their own husbands, hoping to extricate themselves 
from their embarrassments by the tumult of civil war. 

Catiline affected to espouse the cause of the people, thougn 
he himself was one of the most corrupt, and had been the 
most intolerant of the patricians. But it was evident to every 
eye that all the honors and emoluments were grasped by the 
rich, and the masses of the people were degraded and impov- 
erished. Consequently whoever spake upon this theme found 
thousands of eager listeners. Even Cicero, notwithstanding 
the comparative purity of his character and his exalted abil- 
ities, was bitterly opposed by the nobles when a candidate for 
the consulship, solely because he could not boast exalted 
lineage. But as he earnestly avowed aristocratic principles, 
though of plebeian birth, the nobles at length condescended 
to waive their objections. The nobles were also alarmed in 
view of Catiline's conspiracy, and needed the influence of 
Cicero's matchless eloquence to protect them. 

It was under these circumstances that Cicero and Antonius 
were elected consuls. Catiline, defeated in the election, was 
doubly exasperated. He now began to push forward with 
new vigor his schemes for civil war. His partisans at Rome 
were rapidly increased, secret meetings were held, depots of 
arms were provided at different points, and large sums of 
money were raised. Cicero, with great sagacity, traced out 
all the labyrinths of the plot. Though Catiline was ever at- 
tempting the assassination of this his most formidable foe, the 
friends of Cicero guarded him so carefully that all the efforts 
of the conspirators in that direction were frustrated. 

One of the conspirators, Q. Curius, a debauched noble, 
hopelessly involved in debt, found himself quite unable to 
meet the extravagant demands of a woman, Fulvia, with 
whom he was living in criminal connection. To appease her 



8TLLA AVD OATILIKJB. 188 

annanrB, he aasured her that he should soon have monej 
enongh, and revealed to her the oonspiracy, whioh was just on 
the eve of its aooomplishment. She, woman-Uke, betrayed 
the seeret to another, and soon Cioero had her in his employ, as 
his agent, keying him minutely informed of all the details and 
progress of the plot. In this way, also, he was enabled eflfecto- 
M^lj to guard against his own assaasinalion. StiU the character 
of Roman law was sach that the consul could not move 
against the conspirators until there were some overt act of 
rebellion. Catiline assumed the air of an innocent and calum- 
niated man, and his friends were so numerous, that it was 
needAil that his guilt should be undeniably proved before it 
would be safe to strike him. 

Daring all this time Cicero devoted his energies to the sup- 
pent of Idle aristocracy, lending no countenance to any meas- 
ures for meliorating the deplorable condition of the poor. A 
law was proposed to provide the starving populace with land 
to cultivate, from the vast tract of national territory which 
war had depopulated. It is true that this homestead biQ con- 
tained some objectionable features. Cicero, however, sug- 
gested no amendment, but brought upon the scheme the 
crufihing weight of his eloquence, and the people were left to 
starve. A resolution, humane and just, was introduced, to 
restore to the rights of citizenship the children of those who 
had been in£unously proscribed by Sylla. Again the voice of 
Cicero was heard on the side of oppression, and his eloquence 
prevailed. 

At a meeting of the senate, as Catiline entered with an air 
of innocence, Cicero immediately assailed him with direct 
accusation and bitter reproaches. Catiline, allowing exasper- 
ation to get the better of his prudence, pithily replied, *' Then 
are two parties in the commonwealth; the nobles, weak in 
both head and body ; the people, strong in body, but headless. 
I intend to supply this body with a head." 

Measures were now ripe for the revolt. One of the com- 



184 ITALY. 

spirators, C. Manlius, hastened to Etraria, and, Bmnmoning 
his partisans, raised the banners of civil war. Others of the 
conspirators rallied their forces in Picenom and Apulia. But 
Cicero was prepared for the crisis. Proclamations, scattered 
&r and wide, announced the peril. . Armies were sent to crush 
the insurgents ; and Rome assumed the aspect of a city under 
martial law. Still Catiline walked the streets unarrested. 
Though guiding every movement, he professed entire inno- 
cence, and declared his belief that the alarm was a mere pre- 
tense. As there was as yet no legal evidence against him, 
and he belonged to the aristocratic party, he could not be 
arrested. In his assumed innocence he offered to place himself 
in the custody of any persons whom the senate might appoint, 
even in that of the consul Cicero himself. 

Many suspected Cicero of fabricating the story of the con- 
spiracy to subserve his own ends, and particularly to effect 
the destruction of his rival Catiline. Hence it became a 
matter of vital importance to Cicero, that the conspiracy 
should be left to develop itself sufficiently to remove all doubt 
from the public mind. Still it was necessary for him to adopt 
such precautions for defense, that Catiline was greatly embar- 
rassed in his operations, and his accomplices in Rome were 
overawed by the vigilance of the government. At length 
Catiline resolved to lay aside the mask. One night he assem- 
bled his associates, in one of their secret gatherings, imd after 
giving them minute directions as to the plan of procedure, 
arranged for two of their number, C. Cornelius and L. Var- 
guntius to go early the next morning to Cicero's house and 
assassinate him in his chamber. The conspirators had hardly 
crept through the dark streets of Rome to their homes, ere 
Cicero through his spies was informed of all that had trans- 
pired. 

The next morning, November the 8th, Cicero convened 
the senate in the temple of Jupiter Stator, on the brow of the 
Palatine hill. Catiline, with his characteristic effi'ontery, 



BTLLA AKD CATILINB. 18i 

wtorad and took hk seat with the rest of .the senators. The 
aadaoHy was so great, that Cioero, thoroughly as he knew 
Catiline, was amazed, and hroke out upon him, in that oration 
of impassioned eloquence, with which eveiy school-boy is now 
fimuliar, conmiencing with the words, " How long, O Catiline^ 
wilt thou abuse our patience ?'^ 

That yery night Catiline left Rome, to join Manlius in Tu0> 
oany. Still, while on his route, he wrote several letters to 
poBons of high rank, affirming his innocence, and declaring 
that he was driven, by persecution from Rome, and that he 
should retire to Marseilles, into voluntary banishment. In- 
formation was transmitted so slowly in those days, that the 
statement was believed, by many, even long after Catiline was 
at the head of the insurgent camp. 

Catiline now, with great energy, marshaled his forces. 
Stopping a few days at Arretium he organized the insurrecticMi 
there, gave his lieutenants minute directions, and then pro- 
ceeded to the camp of Manlius, which was near Fnsulie. 
His agents were everywhere busy, in rousing the slaves to join 
them, by proffers of freedom, a measure which will always be 
resorted to in civil war, and which, under such circumstances, 
renders a slaveholding community almost helpless. In this 
emergence Cicero remained at Rome to protect the city. His 
colleague Antonius was sent with an army to confront Cati- 
line. The conspirators, left in the city by the arrangement of 
Catiline, were, on a particular day, to murder the principal 
faihabitantB, and, in all directions, kindle conflagrations. Cati- 
line, by a secret march with his army, was to be at hand, cut 
off the ftigitives, and, in the general consternation, with enor- 
mous butchery, take possession of the smoldering city. A 
large number of the profligate, ruined young nobles, were 
aooomplioes in the execrable plan ; a contemplated revolution 
cf blood and woe, by which one part of the aristocraoy, 
making use of the slaves and the mob as their tools, consigned 
•Boiher part to massacre, merely lor the sake of plunder and 



186 ITALY. 

power. Catiline had as little sympathy for the people, as had 
those aristocrats in power, whose cause Cicero so eloquently 
and energetically espoused. 

Cicero at length succeeded in obtaining ample and legal 
evidence against the leading conspirators in the city, and four 
of them were arrested. Cicero then assembled all the people 
in the forum, and detailed to them the objects of the con- 
spiracy, and the convincing proof which had been elicited. 
When the masses learned that the city was to have been 
surrendered to conflagration and indiscriminate massacre, 
their indignation was roused to the utmost. 

The arrested conspirators were immediately brought to 
trial and condenmed to death as traitors. It is remarkable, in 
attestation of the theology of those times, that Caesar advo- 
cated confiscation and banishment instead of death ; declaring 
that death was not severe punishment enough, since death 
was annihilation^ with nothing more to fear or suffer. This 
emphatic denial of the immortaUty of the soul, was received 
by the assembled senate of Rome without any surprise or 
dissent, which seems to prove that the mass of thinking men 
In that day had no belief in a future state. The popular 
tiieology was believed only by the ignorant, and it had a very 
frail hold upon them, apparently having but the slightest 
possible influence upon their conduct. It is the gospel of 
Christ alone which has brought immortality to light, with all 
its infinite persuasions to a holy life. The prisoners were, after 
long debate, doomed to death, and were strangled in their cells. 

Catiline was now at the head of twelve thousand men, 
but his plan of burning Rome had been frustrated, and he 
commenced a retreat toward Gaul. Antonius, with a consular 
army pursued him. A battle soon ensued. The insurgents were 
cut to pieces, and Catiline, sword in hand, rushing despair 
ingly into the thickest of the battle, fell among the slain. Thus 
terminated this most renowned conspiracy recorded in the annalsi 
of history. The eloquence of Cicero has given it immortalitj. 



CHAPTER X. 

OJBSAB AND POMPBT. 
Fbom 69 b. a to 50 & a 

OAia-«-RanrB]f or Pompbt to Romk.— CLODnm akd ths Mtstio Bmi.— Diroaoi 

QV POMPKA.— ^NIODOnB Or OASAK.— TUB TbIUMTIBATB.— POUOT OP dOBBO.— 
POPVLAB MbASITRBB OP C.«AB.~DlTlBION OP THB BpOILB OP OpPIOB.— PbOSBOV- 

noH OP CioBBo.— Hm Bamdhmbnt and Sboalu— Dbmoobatio TBixruPHS.— Do- 

MBBnO ObIBPB.— BlOODT FbAT.— TlTMVLT IN BoMB.~DlOTATOBaHIP OP POMPBT.— 

Organization op a Boman Coubt.—Anbodotb or Casab.— Hm AMBitiions 
DBUom.— 810KNBBS or Pompbt.^Politioal OoMTsna in BoifB.~OPBN Wab.— 
Bbttbbat op Pompbt and Fuoht to Gbbbob. 

A NOTHER of the most renowned of the men of antiquity 
-^ now makes his appearance upon the busy stage of Roman 
fife, Marcus Porcius Cato, a man of illustrious birth and for- 
tune, and of exalted genius. In the early years of childhood, 
he gave indication of that force of character and resolution 
which distinguished his whole career. His education was 
conducted with much care, under the guidance of a private 
tutor, Sarpedon. His temperament was naturally cold, reserv- 
ed, and stem. He was seldom seen to laugh, and despising 
the effeminate and dissolute habits of the young men of his 
day, he adopted the most singular plainness of drefs, and 
great austerity of manners and conduct. With much oergy 
he codperated with, Cicero to quell the insurrection of Call 
line, and in an eloquent speech, which Sallust professes to have 
prentsrved, he urged upon the senate the rigorous punishment 
of the conspirators. 

As Catiline had professed to be the friend of the masses 
of the people, the poorer classes were generally in his favor 
CsBsar, whose sympathies were avowedly in favor of popular 
ri^ts, was understood to lean toward the side of mercy is 



186 ITALY. 

regard to the conspirators ; but Cato urged that they should 
be punished with the utmost rigor of the law. The murmura 
of the people increased after the execution of the conspirators. 
They declared, and with justice, that the senate were eager to 
punish any offenses against aristocratic privileges, while they 
were utterly regardless of all the wrongs and oppressions to 
which the people were subjected. Cato, to appease these 
murmurs, presented a resolve that a large sum of money should 
be appropriated annually to the distribution of corn among 
the people. Though this decree was enacted, there was still 
so much discontent at Rome, and Cassar so undisguisedly ad- 
vocated the claims of the populace, that the senate removed 
him from his office as pretor. But the people immediately 
rallied around him, with so much enthusiam, regarding him as 
a victim suffering for his efforts in their behalf, that he was 
soon agsun reinstated in office. 

At this time, Pompey, having accomplished all the purposes 
of his military mission, and acquired great renown, returned 
to Rome. The people assembled in vast numbers to give him 
a welcome, and hear from him an address. Both parties weape 
very anxious to know to which side he would devote his very 
powerful influence. But his speech was non-committal, and, 
according to Cicero, both patricians and plebeians were alike 
disappointed. Probably, devoted to his own interests, he was 
waiting to see which side would prove the most powerfhL 
Ceesar, appreciating the energy of this ambitious young sol- 
dier, comted his friendship. Pompey received these advances 
as merited homage to his own greatness. , Each of these duh 
tinguished men hoped to avail himself of the abilities of the 
other in climbing to power. It consequently was inevitable 
that they would soon come to rivalry, and to deadly conflict. 

After the death of Cornelia, Caesar married another wife, 
whose name was Pompeia. It was a custom of the times for 
ladies, in closest privacy, to observe a religious ceremony called 
the ** Myster es of the Good Goddess." These rites were of 



OJiBAB AND POXPBT. 189 

such a nature that all male observers were scmpuloasly ex* 
dnded. Even the picture of a man was not allowed to remain 
uncovered upon the walls. These mysteries were one night to 
be celebrated at the house of CsBsar. A debauched young 
noble, by the name of Clodius, who had a very smooth and 
beardless face, disguised himself in the attire of a woman, and 
by bribing a female slave of Pompeia, gained admission. To 
the utter consternation of the ladies, he was discovered in the 
midst of their rites. The infamy of the crime was such that 
Clodius was brought to trial. The young nobles generally, 
debauched in character, were clamorous for the acquittal of 
their companion, being disposed to regard the offense merely 
as a good practical joke. Afler the mockery of a trial, he was 
dismissed uncondemned, to the extreme indignation of the peo- 
ple. C»sar proudly took no part in the prosecution ; but as 
it was whispered, during the trial, that Clodius was admitted 
through the concurrence of Pompeia, he immediately renounced 
her by a public divorce, haughtily saying : " The wife of Caesar 
must not be suspected." 

The aristocracy looked upon Pompey with much distrust, 
and opposed with great determination his attempts to procure 
grants of land for his soldiers. This brought Pompey and 
the aristocracy into fierce collision. Cicero rather coldly sup- 
ported the measures of Pompey, but proposed several amend- 
ments to his bill. The conflict raged with much bitterness, 
and finally Pompey was defeated. CfiBsar, in the meantime, 
had been sent to Spain as second in command in that prov- 
ince. Here he greatly replenished his exhausted purse. It is 
reported that one day entering the town of Cadiz, he saw a 
statue of Alexander in tlie public square. With much sadness 
he said to an attendant, ^^ Alexander, at the age of thirty, was 
master of the world. I have lived thirty-five years, and yet 
how little have I accomplished." 

The vast sums of money with which he returned irom 
Spain aided him in his ambitious enterprises at Rome. Com- 



IM ITALY. 

Uniog with Pompey and with Crassas, a man of ioQndkM 
wealth, the three united, attained such supremacy that they 
were called the triumvirate, or commiBsion of three. This 
coalition wielded immense power. C»sar, without difficulty, 
obtained the great object of his desire — the consulship. The 
aristocrats, however, succeeded in associating with him one 
of their partisans as colleague. Cicero was not popular with 
either party. His want of noble birth exposed him to the 
cuitempt of the nobles. His apparently obsequious advocacy 
of the interests of the patricians rendered him obnoxious to 
the people. Finding himself thus deserted by both parties, in 
chagrin he retired for a short time from any participation in 
public af^s. 

Cato was now the acknowledged leader of the aristocratic 
party, and he regarded C»sar with emotions of animosity, 
which grew stit>nger and stronger until the end of his life. 
But powerful as Cato was, he could accomplish but little in 
antagonism with such formidable opponents as the trium- 
virate; particularly, since Csesar, Pompey, and Crassus were 
supported by the whole weight of the popular party. 

One of the first measures of CsBsar, in his consulship, was 
to grant farms to twenty thousand Roman citizens in Cam- 
pania, one of the most fertile regions of Italy. Bibulus, his 
colleague, supported by the nobles, exerted himsdlf to the 
utmost to thwart this measure, but in vain. The opposition 
of the nobles was silenced by the fierce menaces of the mob. 
In fact, Bibulus was thus so effectually overawed, thsrt he 
withdrew into retirement, and CsBsar was left in almost 
undisputed possession of the consular power. CsBsar was 
now the idol of the people. The triumvirate made a division 
of the spoils of office at their disposal among themselves. 
C»sar, with a large army, was intrusted with the government 
of Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul, and of Dlyrium, for ^ve 
years. Pompey, who had in the meantime married Juha, the 
daufsrhter of Cssar, was intrusted with the administrslaiHi 



O^SAB AKD POMPBT. 191 

of affiiirs in Asia. Crassus, with his vast wealth, and ambi* 
tions of being the richest man in the world, remained in 
Rome, to watch over his pecuniary int.erest8 and prosecute 
his enterprises there. 

The wheel of popular parties had, manifestly, again r^ 
volved, and the aristocracy were now depressed. A strong 
disposition was manifested to effect the ruin of Cicero. For 
some time he had absented himself from Rome. The trium- 
virate had caused, in the annual election, men who were in 
their own interests to be placed in the consular chair ; and 
these new consuls immediately commenced the prosecution of 
Cicero, for the execution of Lentulus, Cethegus, and the 
other conspirators with Catiline. A law was enacted, re- 
flective in its operation, or ex post facto^ as it is legally 
termed, which sentenced to punishment any one guilty of 
putting a Roman citizen to death without trial. The popu- 
lace, excited against Cicero, insulted him whenever he ap- 
peared in the streets. The distinguished orator, finding his 
cause hopeless, and conscious that he was already doomed by 
the decree which had passed, escaped by night from Rome, 
and retired into voluntary exile. A law was then enacted, in 
the usual language of a decree of banishment, forbidding him 
the use of fire and water within four hundred miles of Italy, 
denouncing any one who should harbor him within those 
limits, and declaring it a crime to move for his recall, cither 
before the senate or the people. His property was also con- 
fiscated, and his house, on the Palatine hill, was burnt to the 
ground. 

Cato denounced these measures of democratic violence 
The influence of this illustrious man was so great, that i 
was not deemed safe to attempt to stiike him down. In the 
greed of annexation, Rome had decided, without the color of 
justice, to take possession of the island of Cyprus, and Cato, 
though he inveighed against the criminality of the measure, 
was sent to bring the island into subjection to Rome. He 



IM ITlLT. 

was selected for the xnission merely as a measure to remoffe 
him from the metropolis. The king of Cyprus, knowing his 
utter inability to cope with Rome, took poison and died. 

At the close of the year, new consuls came into power; 
Di3W influences prevailed, and, with extraordinary unanimity, 
both the senate and people concurred in a law for Cicero's 
recalL He landed at Brundusium, where he was received 
with great kindness. His advance to Rome was almost a 
constant triumph ; and when he reached the gates of the city, 
nearly the whole population came forth to welcome hinL 
The streets were thronged with the multitudes, who cheered 
him on his way. Cicero was probably much indebted to 
Pompey for his recall and his honorable reception. 

One of Cicero's first measures, in the senate, after his 
return, was eminently a popular one. There had been, for 
some time, a great scarcity of corn at Rome. Pompey, at 
Cicero's suggestion, was invested with full powers to see that 
the capital should be amply supplied with com for a period of 
five years. This office conferred immense power. The ground 
apon which Cicero's house had stood was restored to him, and 
money^ from the public treasury, was placed in his hands to 
enable him to rebuild. Some of the disaffected, however, 
oxoited riots, and there were witnessed many scenes of tumult 
iOid bloodshed. 

While these events were transpiring at Rome, CsBsar was 
passing the winter at Lucca, on the frontiers of the province 
intrusted to his command. The senate took advantage of his 
absence to endeavor to repeal the agrarian law, by which the 
lands of Campania had been divided among the poorer citizens ; 
at the same time, they made an effort to degrade CsBsar from 
his command in Gaul. The haughtiness of the aristocralio 
party, and their insolent bearing toward Cicero, had alienated 
him from their cause, and he addressed the senate in a very 
eloquent oration in defense of Csesar. He seemed now quite 
disposed to oast himself into the arms of the popular party 



OJIBAB AHD FOMPXT. IM 

and oomposed a work, highly oomplimentary to CSfleear, whiok 
he sent to him to cement the bonds of confidence and onion. 

The opposition to Caosar, stimnlated by the aristocracy, was 
bcreasing so fiist in Rome, that Pompey and Crassns decided 
to present themsdves as candidates for the consulship, hopmg 
thus to be able to sustain their colleague, for the fiJl of any 
one of their number, would endanger the authority of the 
triumvirate. The leaders of the democracy can generally 
bring forward the mob to aid them. Through such scenes aa 
are often witnessed, when the rabble are roused, in a greal 
dty, they obtained thor election. The aristocracy had pr» 
sented Cato as their candidate for pretor ; but he was rejected. 
The whole electicm was a dedsive democratic triumpiL 

Pompey and Orassus now made rapid strides toward dicta- 
torial power, the people being eager to grant them even more 
than they asked. By one law, in addition to the consular 
dignity, the govenmient of Spain was assigned to Pompey, 
and that of Syria to Crassus^ each to hold their command for 
five years, and to be invested with the power of raising troops, 
and of making peace or war at their pleasure. They then 
obtained the prolongation of Caesar's dominion in QhvI for 
five years. 

CrassuB, with an army, embarked for Syria. Pompey 
remained in Rome, intrusting the command of his Spanish 
province to lieutenants. Pompey had now attained the 
height of his ambition. Caesar was in Gaul ; Crassus was in 
Syria ; and Pompey was enthroned at Rome with dictatorial 
power. As is almost invariably the case, under such circum 
stances, Pompey, having attained such dignity, became very 
aristocratic m his tastes and principles, and was disposed to 
push from beneath him the popular ladder by which he had 
mounted to his exaltation. He was complaisant to the nobles, 
and &vored them in all things, manifesting an earnest disposi- 
tion to r^ard them as the support and ornament of his throne. 

DomeHtiA grieb were then as relentless and heart-rending 

9 



i1>4 fTALT. 

as now. Pompey was irreproachable in his relationfl as u 
hosband and a father ; and his love for Julia, who, as we hare 
mentioned, was the daughter of CsBsar, was singularly pure, 
tender, and constant. Her death, at this time, leaving an 
infant who survived her but a few days, prostrated him, for a 
season, a heart-stricken man. Julia was universally loved and 
admired. Her ^meral was celebrated by an immense con 
course in the Campus Martius, an honor which had never 
before been conferred upon a woman. But still more momen- 
tous issues resulted from this death. Pompey was passing 
over to the support of the nobles. He had never been in 
hearty democratically incHned. Caesar was still the popular 
leader, looking steadfastly at the people as the supporter ol 
his power. The influence of Julia had bound her &ther and 
her husband together. That tie was now, by her death, sun- 
dered for ever. 

The following incident, which occurred at this time, illus- 
trates the state of society in those days of violence. There 
were two distinguished men, bitterly opposed to each other in 
political strife, Clodius, a democrat, and Milo, an aristocrat. 
On the twentieth of January, Milo, who was a man of great 
wealth, left Rome on some business, in his carriage, accom- 
panied by his wife Fausta, and attended by a strong retinue 
of gladiators. As, late in the afternoon, he was ascending the 
Alban hills, he met Clodius returning from a journey, mounted 
on horseback, and also accompanied by thirty slaves. The 
two rivals passed each other with civil recognition. But the 
attendants, espousing the cause of their several masters, were 
not so courteous. Blows succeeded jeering words, and ths 
two parties were soon involved in a serious quarrel 

Clodius turned back to interfere, and, addressing one of 
the retinue of Milo in an authoritative manner, was assailed 
by him, and severely wounded by a blow from his sword. 
The fray now became general between the two parties, Milo 
engaging eagerly in it. Clodius, helpless and bleeding, was 



OJiBAB AVD FOXPXT. Iff 

Mffied into a neighboring inn. Milo, deeming it a favorable 
opportunity for destroying his rival, made an assault upon the 
inn, and Clodins was dragged oat into the street and mur- 
dered. Many of the slaves of dodius were also slain, a 
ftfw only escaping by flight. The gory corpse of Clodius 
was left by the wayside, and Milo, wiping his bloody sword, 
tgain entered his carriage, and quietly continued his journey, 
with the gladiators exulting at his side. 

A senator who happened to pass, on his way to Rome, 
lacked up the dead body, and sent it on to the capital, in a 
litter. It was an hour after dark, when the mangled remains 
were conveyed to the house of Glodins. An immense crowd 
of the populace were soon assemUed, for Clodius was a 
prominent advocate of popular rights. Fulvia, the widow oi 
the deceased, fiumed the flames of excitement by her shrieks 
of anguish, and by the fhmtic manner in which she hung over 
the corpse, pointing to the wounds, and calling upon the people 
fer vengeance. 

Through all the hours of the night, the tumult and thnmg 
increased. In the early morning, two influential members of 
the popular party took the command of the agitated mass, who 
were waiting for a leader. The body, by their directi<»is, was 
conveyed to the senate house, placed before the rostra upon a 
pile, composed of the furniture of the apartment. This was 
set on fire, and soon the whole senate house was in a blaze — 
the magnificent and appropriate funeral pyre of one wlio had 
fiJlen a victim t^ aristocratic violence. 

But the lawlessness of the mob kindles flames which it can 
not quench. A beautiful edifice was in ashes, and Rome was 
endangered. The tide of public sentiment turned. The pop- 
ulace, who had received a great wrong, were now aggressors. 
IGlo returned to Rome, and with his vast wealth, and the 
sympathy excited by the destruction of the senate house, ral- 
lied a strong party in his defense. The populace also rallied. 
Tumults, battles, conflagrations, blood, ensued. The next step 



tM ITAI.T. 

was ineyitable. A dictator was needed, widi a ttrong mifitny 
arm, to restore peace to Rome. Pompey was the man for the 
hoar. He was appointed dictator, under the form of sole c(»- 
tol, without any coUe.igue, 

With alacrity and energr, he assmned the office, and imme- 
diately entered into an investigation of the mnrder of Clodins. 
The power of Milo was such, that Pompey was in great dan- 
ger of assassination. A strong guard surrounded his house 
by night and by day, and accompanied him wherever he wait. 
With singular sagacity and justice, Pompey made preparati<His 
for the trial of Milo. An impartial judge was unpointed to 
preside OTer a court, composed of the most distinguished citi- 
sens. Three days were appropriated to the examinaticm of 
witnesses. The public accusers, who were the nephews of 
dodius, were allowed two hours to plead thdr cause. Milo 
¥ras permitted to take three hours for his defense. 

Never before in Rome had there appeared r^ulations so 
wise for the attainment of justice. Milo endeayored, in eyery 
possible way, to frustrate the organization of this tribunal, but 
Pompey assured him that he would protect the commonwealth, 
if necessary, by force of arms. The iDustrioaa Cato, of TJtica, 
was one of the members of this court. On the first day of the 
trial the rabble were so menacing, that MarceUus, one of Milo's 
advocates, applied to Pompey for protection. A strong mili- 
tary force was immediately sent to the court house, and the 
trial proceeded without further interruption. Hancus, a deoft- 
ag^gue of great ability and no moral principle, harangued the 
populace of Rome, urging them to be present in aD thdr 
strength at the conclusion of the trial, and not sxifkr Milo to 
escape, should the court adjudge him not guilty. 

The decisive hour arrived. It was the morning of the 
aghth of April. The sho|^ in Rome were all dosed. Tbe 
whole vast populace of the Imperial city thronged the foram. 
nie sc^diers of Pompey, with their polished armor and ^eanh 
hg wei^na were drawn up in strong militaiy array, pre 



O JIB BAB IVD POHPXT. W! 

ftrei at Brerj hanrd, to enforce the laws. Pompey himself 
was present, surrounded by an ample body-guard. The plead* 
iDgs were to be heard, and the sentence hnmediately to be 
pronounced and executed. 

Antonius and Kepos appeared in behalf of the accusera 
Cicero plead the cause of Milo. But he was a timid man, and 
OTerawed by the popular clamor, did not speak with his accus- 
tomed eloquence. There were fifly-one judges to decide the 
cause. Thirty-eight voted for the condemnation of the accu» 
ed, and but thirteen for his acquittal. The culprit was sent 
into exile, and retired a ruined man, to Marseilles, in GauL 
His punishment would doubtless have been more severe, were 
it not that Clodius was a man of infamous character. The 
leaders of the mob in burning the senate house, were also 
tried, condemned, and punished. Pompey conducted this 
wh(^e aflOdr with so much wisdom and moderation, and yet 
with such determined, inflexible justice, as to elevate hin 
greatly in public esteem. 

Tranquillity being thus restored to Rome, Pompey i^pa 
rently laid aside his dictatorial power by securing the electi<Mi 
of L. Sciplo as his colleague in the consulship. The new 
ecxiBul was the father of Cornelia, whom Pompey had recently 
married. The aristocracy were pleased with Pompey's reso- 
lutoiees in frowning down, with strong military display, all 
insubordination of the mob; and as they were in no little 
danger from popular violence, they supported Pompey's 
power. The people were also well satisfied with him for 
securing the trial and condemnation of one of the most powers 
fill of their aristocratic foes. Pompey was now the first man 
in Rome, and consequently, the first man in the world. Caesar 
was still in Gaul. Crassus had died in Mesopotamia, and the 
wreck of his army had been led back to Syria. At a bound, 
Pompey had attained the highest roimd in the ladder of 
political preferment. He was, as it were, the monarch of the 



IM ITALY* 

Roman empire, awl CsBsar but the general of one of hi 

armies. 

Csesar was annoyed beyond measure in being thus eclipsed. 
Ambition was the all-deyouring passion of his soul. In one 
of his expeditions, he passed through a miserable hamlet in 
Switzerland. One of his friends, in contemplating the 
wretched hovels and impoverished inhabitants, wondered 
whether rivalry and ambition agitated the hearts of the 
people there. Caesar divulged his whole nature in the reply, 
*' I had rather be the first man in such a village as this, than 
the second man at Rome." 

Csesar's command in Gaul was to expire in a few years, 
and then he had the humiliating prospect of returning, a 
private citizen, to Rome. Pompey had secured for himself 
five additional years for the command of the army in Spain ; 
and he had also obtained the passage of a law forbidding any 
magistrate to be appointed to the government of a province, 
until five years after the expiration of his magistracy. Thus 
CsBsar was cut off from advancement, while Pompey was 
amply provided with continued wealth, dignity, and power. 

But Caesar was not a man to be laid upon the shelf. 
Obstacles to success never discouraged him ; they only roused 
him to greater energies. He had already conquered a large 
part of Gaul, and enriched himself with almost fabulous 
wealth. And with him, wealth was of no value but as an 
instrument of power. He immediately became lavish of his 
treasure in securing the cooperation of a large number of 
influential friends in Rome. 

To Cicero he loaned money in abundance. He won the 
applause and gratitude of the people by commencing at Rome 
seveial works of great public utility, and by establishing mag- 
nificent spectacles. Thus he kept his name continually alive 
in the metropolis. To his soldiers he was boundless in his 
liberality, while at the same time, he welcomed to his camp 
adventurers from all lands. Caesar had been himself a slave; 



OiBSAB AVD POHPBY. 199 

bnt this did not prevent him from being a dave^trader. His 
bonndlesB wealth was acquired by pinnderiug the towns of 
the GanlSy and by selling the wretched captives into bondage. 
The soul sickens in reflecting upon the atrocities and woes of 
these dark days. If we can judge at all from the testimony 
of history, it would appear that the best men in those days 
were guilty of conduct which would now consign any one to 
infamy. 

Pompey and Caesar still professed friendship for each 
other, but it was well known that, in heart, they were bitter 
rivaku Their partisans in Rome were openly arrayed against 
each other. As the result of past conflicts, in the days of 
Marius, and Omna, and Sylla, many of the Italian allies had 
secured the rights of Boman citizenship. But all the nations 
between the Po and the Alps were, as yet, depriyed of those 
rights. They were restless and murmured loudly. 

GsBsar, advocating ever the popular side, had espoused 
flieir cause, and was accused even of having at one time 
indted them to open insurrection. He now enlisted earnestly 
in their behall Availing himself of the power to which 
his military position entitled him, he had conferred upon 
several of the towns north of the Po the rank of Roman 
colonies; and thus, any of their inhabitants who were ap- 
pointed to public offlces in those towns, became, by that 
position, citizens of Bome. Oomum, at the foot of Lake 
Oomo, was one of these towns. 

A magistrate from that place, happening to go to Bome, 
claimed his rights as a Boman citizen. Marcellus, then consul, 
opposed to Caesar, denied his claim, and, in cruel mockery, 
ordered the man to be scourged, and then bade him go and 
show his wounds to CsBsar. Cicero, in a letter to Atticus, 
alludes to this outrage, and says that it would give as much 
offense to Pompey as to Csesar. Pompey was not at all dis- 
posed to make the people his foes; and he was himself in 
fovor of conferring the rights of citizenship upon the in* 
habitants beyond the P<h as an act of justioe. 



200 itai;t« 

CflBsar was sQent req[)eetkig the oatrage and insiilt, faiU 
quietly he was maturing his plaas. He was at that time at the 
head of one of the finest armies which had e^er been organized. 
MarceUus and other foes of Caesar were oonspiring to remoye 
him, at any risk, from a position of such power. Pompey, 
with characteristic moderation, unwilKng to give his ^rmer 
£ither-in-law any just grounds of offense, frustrated the con- 
templated movement. In the meantime, Curio entered the 
consulship, and ardently espoused the interests of Caesar. 
His enemies said that he was bribed by a gift, amounting to 
four hundred thousand dollars. He commenced action by 
attacking Pompey, and declaring that he was aspiring to abso- 
lute command. Pompey's greatness was now such that the 
jealousy of the people was aroused, and they loudly applauded 
the denunciations of Curio. Pompey also began to be alarmed 
at the increasing greatness of Cassar, and he advocated his 
recall. 

We have now traced the incidoits of Roman history 
down to the 44th year before Christ. In the autumn of this 
year Pompey was taken dangerously sick, at his villa, near 
Naples. His celebrity was such that all Italy was agitated 
with sorrow, and in all the temples sacrifices were offered in 
his behalf. When he recovered, the rejoicing seemed to be 
universal, and there were festivals of thanksgiving in all the 
towns. And when, in his convalescence, he returned slowly 
in his carriage, to Rome, the populace crowded the roadsides, 
with garlands by day, and torches by night, and strewed his 
nath with flowers. Pompey was greatly gratified by these 
indications of popular feivor, and was deceived into the belief 
that all Italy would move at his command. " I have," said 
he, '^ but to stamp my foot and armies rally around me." 

But a few months passed away ere one of Caesar's most 
confidential officers arrived at Rome, to attend to some private 
business for Caesar, and did not call upon Pompey» but da* 
parted again, without holding any communication with him^ 



OMBAB AND POMPBT. 801 

Soon alter tbis, Antonins, a warm supporter of Caesar, assailed 
Pompey in the tribune, in a speech of the utmost bitterness, 
following him through his whole public career with the most 
acrimonious denunciations. It became now pretty evident 
that there must be civil war. Neither Pompey nor CsBsar 
would be contented with the second place in the state, and 
they were each able to command immense resources. In this 
conflict the aristocracy almost universally would be with 
Pompey, and the populace, as a general rule, with CsBsar. 
There were, at the same time, not a few persons of broken 
fortunes, eager for tumults of any kind, hoping thus to retrieve 
their ruined a&irs. Csesar had presented his name as a can* 
didate for the consulship. Pompey caused a decree to be 
issued, declaring that CsBsar could not be a candidate, until he 
first resigned his command of the army, and returned to Rome 
a private citizen. This would place Cassar powerless in the 
hands of his enemies. 

Cato was bitterly hostile to Csdsar. Cicero, though by 
nature inclined to non-committal, still, with his strong aristo- 
cratic tastes and associations, was disposed to cooperate with 
Pompey. Brutus, a nephew of Cato, was then in Rome, a 
young man of much promise, who had not as yet taken any 
very conspicuous position in pubHo affairs. C. Cassius was 
one of the tribunes of the people. C. Octavius was then a 
boy only thirteen years of age. 

At this time, an envoy came to Rome, from CsBsar, with a 
message to the senate. The letter contained a statement of 
the services Csesar had rendered to the commonwealth, and a 
proposition that he would resign the command of his army, if 
Pompey would do the same ; but stating, with much apparent 
candor, that it was not just to desire him to lay aside all power 
of defense, and expose himself helpless to his enemies. A 
vehement debate ensued, the partisans of Pompey demanding 
that Cadsar should be required to resign before a certain day, 
and that, if he should refuse, he should be pronounced a traitor 

9* 



Ml ITALY. 

The aristooraoy, as a body, xmited to ernsh Gnsar. The 
people, through the agency of the tribunes, supported the 
popular leader. The contest was violent and protracted, and 
at length the senate, in the exercise of its highest prerogatiye, 
iDvested the consuls with dictatorial power, by a decree 
authorizing them '^ to provide for the safety of the republic." 

Lentulus and Marcellus were then consuls ; the last who 
held that office by the free votes of the Roman people. Th 
dictatorial power, surrendered to the consuls, alarmed the 
friends of CsBsar, and three of them, Antonius, Cassius, and 
Curio, deeming their lives no longer safe, fled from Rome to Ra- 
venna, where Csesar then was, awaiting the result of his appeal 
to the senate. CsBsar was commanded to resign his office, and 
the direction of all the forces of the commonwealth was, by 
ihe same decree, placed in the hands of Pompey. High as was 
Caosar's reputation at that time as a general, the reputation of 
Pompey was still more exalted. 

Ravenna, then a more important town than now, was sit- 
uated upon the shores of the Adria ic, about three hundred 
miles northeast from Rome. OsBsar had with him but one 
legion, consistuig probably of between six and seven thousaoil 
men. The remaining eight legions of his army were quar* 
tered beyond the Alps. No sooner was Caosar informed of 
the transactions at Rome, so hostile to him, than he assembled 
his soldiers around him, informed them of what had transpired, 
and committed his cause and their cause to their strong arms. 
The soldiers with enthusiasm responded to hk appeal. That 
same night he advanced, by a secret march, several miles on 
the road to Rome, and took possesion of the small town of 
Areminum. Here Casar received a private letter from Pom- 
pey, in which Pompey endeavored to defend the course he had 
pursued, declared that he had not been influenced by any 
unfriendly feelings toward CsBsar, and entreated OsBsar not to 
pursue measures which would inevitably involve the country 
in civil war. 



O^BAB AHD POMPBT. %M 

CaBsar returned an answer couched in similar terms of 
friendship, similar avowals of devotion to the public good, and 
similar entreaties that Pompej would not persist in measures 
which must desolate their country with the horrors of a fratri- 
ddal strife. In addition, he urged that both should give up 
their armies ; that all the forces in Italy should be disbanded, 
and that the senate and people should be left freely to deliber* 
ate on all public questions, and especially upon the question of 
his claims to the consulship. He finally requested a personal 
interview with Pompey. 

Two envoys, L. Caesar and L. Roscius, were sent to convey 
this letter to Rome. CsBsar, however, did not await the result 
of uncertain negotiations, but, with his disciplined cohorts, 
advanced, and crossing the Rubicon, which formed the bound- 
ary between Italy and his province of Gaul, took possession of 
the towns of Ancona, Fanum, and Pisaurum. It is said that 
Caesar hesitated for some time upon the banks of the Rubicon, 
ere he ventured to take that step from which there could be no 
retreat. There are always crowds ready to gather around vic- 
torious banners. Multitudes, from all parts of Italy, flocked to 
the camp of Caesar. He had also smnmoned other legions of 
his army from beyond the Alps, and his advance in such fbrce, 
toward Rome, excited general consternation in the capital. 

Pompey, quite unprepared for such decisive action, fled 
from Rome with the consuls, most of the senate, and a major- 
ity of the smaller magistrates, and sought refrige in Capua, 
that they might find time to organize efficient measures of 
resistance. Pompey had no troops to rely upon but two 
legions, which had been recently withdrawn from Gaul ; and 
these legions were so devoted in their attachment to Caesar, 
that it was greatly feared that at his approach, they would rush 
to join his banners. Pompey immediately sent out recruiting 
officers to raise soldiers, but the people, overawed by the ad- 
vance of Caesar, were very reluctant to enlist. Under these 
oireamstaiices, there seemed to be no hope for Pompey, but to 



SIM ITALY. 

retreat to the soath of Italy, cross over to Greece mth sad) 
forces as he could carry with him, and there attempt to organ- 
ize an army sufficiently strong to warrant his return to make 
war upon CsBsar. 

While in the midst of these embarrassments, he received 
Ciesar's letter. The propositions it contained were discussed 
in full council, and the peril was so great, that, probably to gain 
time, it was agreed to accede to his terms, provided Caesar 
would withdraw from all the towns he had occupied out of his 
limits and go back to his own province. 

But Ctesar was still advancing, and Pompey was still levy- 
ing troops. Neither was willing to be the first to disarm, lest 
the other should then strike an eifectual blow. Caesar was 
consequently continually accumulating troops and fortifying 
his positions, and Pompey was also collecting an army and 
retreating. He had sent recruiting officers in all directions to 
enlist soldiers, but not a few of these men deserted and 
passed over to Caesar. The month of February found Pom- 
pey at Luceria, in Apulia, with a considerable army, but 
one by no means sufficient to cope with the disciplined troops 
of Caesar, who was at this time several hundred miles distant| 
in the north of Italy, occupying the towns of Iguvium and 
Auximum. 

One of Pompey's officers, Domitius, at but a few days* 
march south of the encampment of Caesar, had collected at 
Corfinium nearly nineteen thousand men. The insane idea 
entered his mind that he could with that force resist the 
march of Caesar. In defiance of the express orders of Pom- 
pey, that he should hasten with his division to join the com?- 
mander-in-chief at Luceria, he fortified himself at Corfiiiium. 
Pompey was greatly disturbed by this act of disobedience^ 
and continued his retreat to Brundusium, at the southwest 
extremity of the Itahan peninsula, where he arrived about the 
twenty-fifth of February. Domitius had cherished the hope 
that Pompey, appreciating his military sagacity, would at 



O^BAB AVD POMPBT. Mi 

« 

mnli to strcngihai tiim. Bat he wis left to his owa . 
vwotDoes. The baimera of deaar booh i^peared before the 
hatdemoits of Corfiuinm. The soldiers of Domitiiu had 
Biiflident intelligeiioe to pereeive thor utter mability to resist 
sach a foe. They began to mnnniir and desert, and finalfy 
broke out in open mutiny. 

Seizing DonuUns and all his officers, they sent word to 
Cesar that they were ready to open the gates, deliver the 
offic^^ into his hands, and receiye him as a deliverer. 
GaBsar entered the city in triumph, and summoning the 
officers before him, reproached some of them with personal 
ingratitude, but, with the magnanimity which generally char- 
acterised his conduct, dismissed them all unharmed. He 
even allowed Domitius to carry away a large amount of 
treasure, which he had brought to pay his troops. The 
soldiers, with alacrity, enlisted in the service of CsBsar. With 
new vigor, he put his army in motion to march upon Brundo- 
num, hoping to capture his only formidable rival there. It 
was evident to all that there was no hope for Pompey but in 
ffight. Success is usually a persuasive argument. The crowd 
flocked to Caesar, and Pompey was deserted. Even many 
senators and other men of rank and fortune, reluctant to 
abandon their country and follow Pompey mto exile, were 
disposed to recognize th& l«»g^timacy of power, and to seek 
the smiles of the victor. 

On the ninth of March, Caesar arrived before Brundusium» 
at the head of nearly forty thousand men. Pompey had but 
twelve thousand, but they were very strongly intrenched. 
Many of his followers, with their wives and children, iial 
already embarked for the opposite coast of Greece. Caesar 
CTged the siege with great vigor, and pushed out two moles 
from the opposite side of the harbor's mouth, that he might 
cut off the possibility of retreat by sea. Pompey, however, 
succeeded in holding Caesar in check, nntd he was enabled to 
embark with the remainder of his troops and foUowerSi and 



SOS XTJlLT; 

on the seyeiiteenth of March he spread lus sails, ^d bis fleet 
Boon disappeared, passing over the blue waves of the Adriatic 
to the shores of Greece. The citizens immediately threw 
open the gates, and CfBsar entered the town, now undisputed 
master of Italy. 



CHAPTER XI. 

THK 8TBU00LB AND FALL OP POMPBT 

Fbom 60 b. a to 48 & a 

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vmom TO SrAiiv.~Tin Was ajid Fikal Oonqvbbt.— GiMAs RcnrBm to Beihi* 

DUBn711.-^BOB81B TO ObBBOB IN PVRSVIT Or PuMPET.— Y lOnSITITDn OP THB WaB.— 
POMPBT't VlOTOBT AT DTBAOBIirM.— BbTBBAT OP O.ABAB.— BaTTLB OP PbaBBA* 

UA.— Uttbb Bunr op Pompbt.— Hu Fuoht.— Joxm Cobmella and bu Son.— 

MbLANOBOLT YoTAOB to E0TPT.~HiS Afl6AaUNATI0N BT PTOLBMT. 

AS Pompej's fleet was leaving the harbor, Csraari with 
^^ ox legi(Xis in his train, entered the streets of Brundusium. 
With mnch military akill Pompey had effected the embarka- 
tion of all his troops and his followers, and had completely 
swept the harbor of its shipping, so that C»sar had no means 
of pursuing. It was on the 17th of March that the last divi- 
sion of Pompey's army made sail, and the next day the inhabit 
tants liirew open their gates to CsBsar. He entered the city 
fai a triumphal procession, and made an address to the inhabi- 
tants ; but finding it impossible immediately to follow Pompey, 
he decided to repair to Rome to consolidate his power, while 
his agents were building and collecting ships to transport his 
army to Greece, in pursuit of the fugitives. 

Pompey, regarding Ceesar as a traitor and a rebel, had 
issued very denunciatory proclamations, threatening with the 
most severe punishment, any who should proffer him th 
slightest aid or countenance. CsBsar, on the other hand, had 
manifested the greatest moderation toward the partisans of 
Pompey. The sympathies of the community were conse 
quently turning rapidly toward the conqueror. CsBsar at 
Qaoe assmned the attitude of the lawful sovereign of Italy. 



208 ITALY. 

He sent orders to all the chief magistrates along the shore t« 
provide a certain number of ships, and send them to Bran- 
dusium. His legions he quartered in the principal towns. 
Success had drawn to his standards aU the desperate adven- 
turers and unprincipled demagogues of the empire, while the 
timid and the conservative, uncertain how the conflict might 
terminate, were reluctant to commit themselves to either 
party. CsBsar was anxious to secure the cooperation of men 
of leading influence, and he wrote to Cicero, earnestly request- 
ing him to meet him at Rome. But Cicero was the last man 
for decisive action in a case in which success was doubtful. 
He, however, met Caesar on the road, at Formia, but was 
careful not to commit himself to his cause. 

Csesar urged him to take his place in the senate at Rome, 
arguing that his withdrawal would be understood as his con- 
demnation of Caesar's conduct. Cicero intimated that should 
he take his seat in the senate, he could not refrain from 
expressing sympathy for Pompey, and that he should urge a 
decree that Pompey should not be molested in his retreat in 
Greece. 

" I will permit no such language as that to be held," said 
Caesar, angrily. " And if I am denied the benefit of your 
advice, I must follow such as I can procure ; and I shall have 
recourse to extreme measures." 

On these terms they parted, and Caesar pursued his journey 
to Rome. He immediately summoned the senate. The 
majority had followed the fortunes of Pompey, accompanying 
him in his retreat to Greece. Of the minority who remamed, 
several, under various pretexts, still stood aJoof. Still, a 
goodly number were convened, and Caesar addressing them 
in a very plausible speech, recapitulated his grievances and 
claimed their support. He, however, assured them that if 
they were averse to assist him, he could dispense with their 
!»rvices, and administer the government by the energies of his 
own unaided arm. He expressed an earnest desire to rescue 



THX BTBUGGLS AVD VALL OF POMPBT. 9W 

the eomitry from the expenses and ravmges of war, and urged 
that ambassadors should be sent to P<»npey to endeavor to 
effect a peace. 

The senate cordiallj accepted thk last proposition, but 
Pompey's character was such, and his threats had been so 
decisive against any one who should eonntenance in any way 
Ihe usurpation of Ca&sar, that no senator could be found who 
dared to accept the office of an envoy to his camp, with such 
proposals. Such, at least, is Csesar's represoitation, though 
Hutarch declares, and Cicero seems also to imply, that the 
senators refused the mission, because none of them had any 
confidence in Caesar's sincerity in his offers to negotiate. 

As Spain was stUI held by the partisans of Pompey, C»sar, 
about the middle of April, leaving the government of the cap- 
ital with M. Lepidus, set out in person for the subjugation of 
the Spanish peninsula. At the same time, armies were sent to 
Scily and Sardinia to bring those islands into subjection to 
his power. This latter achievement was soon aooomfdished. 
In both these places, tlte inhabitants cordially espoused the 
cause of Caesar. 

The first opposition Caesar encountered in his march to 
Spain was at Massilia, now Marseilles, in transalpine OauL 
Thp citizens manned the fortresses, and closed their gates 
agidnst him. With three legions Caesar laid siege to the city, 
and three months were employed in constructing a fleet to 
attack the place by sea, whOe immense towers were reared to 
aid the assault by land. Leaving the land army under the 
eonmiand of C. Trebonius, and the fleet in charge of D. Bru- 
tus, both of whom were subsequentiy in the number of his 
assasdns, Caesar, with a strong division of his army, continued 
his march into Spain. 

* Three of Pompey's lieutenants, with seven Roman legioot 
held the fortresses of the peninsula. Caesar crossed the Pyre 
nees with four legions, and others were following close behind. 
Ss cavahy was excellent, his troops all veterans, and devot 



810 ITALY. 

edly attached to their leader. Pompey's generals had not fbll 
confidence in their soldiers, and feared to venture a decisive 
action. They, therefore, chose a strong position in the town 
of Ilerda, on the banks of the Sicoris, one of the tributaries 
of the Ebro, and having provided themselves with abundant 
supplies, resolved to protract the conflict. Caesar marched to 
the opposite bank of the Sicoris and encamped, ^ing the foe 
the narrow stream flowing between them. 

Caesar caused a large number of boats to be constructed, 
ingeniously framed of wicker work, and covered with hides. 
These, being very light, were rapidly transported in wagons 
twenty miles up the river, and a detachment of troops was 
sent across by night, who strongly fortified themselves upon a 
bluffj and a bridge was speedily thrown across the stream. 
The Spanish tribes now began to espouse his cause, regarding 
him as the advocate of popular rights, and they flooded his 
camp with all needful supplies. Pompey's generals were 
alarmed, and breaking up their camp, commenced a retreat 
toward the Ebro. Caesar pursued them vigorously, so vigor- 
ously that he outstripped them, cut off their retreat, and soon 
reduced them to such an extremity, that, abandoned by their 
soldiers, the generals threw themselves upon his mercy. 
Though they had been guilty of great outrages in the massacre 
of such prisoners as had fallen into their hands, Caesar niag- 
nanimously allowed them to retire unharmed, on condition of 
their quitting Spain, and disbanding their army. The wel- 
come stipulation was eagerly accepted, and all opposition to 
Caesar vanished fi-om Spain like the dissipation of morning 
mist. A small cloud darkened the sky in the south for a few 
days, but that, also, soon disappeared. The complete conquest 
of Spain was thus efi^cted in forty days after Caesar crossed 
the Pyrenees. 

Caesar returned to Massilia, which was now reduced to the 
last extremity. Immediately upon his arrval, the garrison, 
relying upon his well known clemency, ofilred to surrender. 



THX BTBVGGLB AHD FALL OF FOMPBT. Sll 

Witb diaracteristio liberality, he protected the city from plua- 
der, aod allowed both dtizens and Boldiers to retain their 
liberty. The friends of Caesar at Rome, in order to give some 
semblance of law to his usurpation, appointed ..him dictator, 
rhe conqueror immediately returned to the capital, and not 
willing to retain longer than was indispensable to his plans the 
always obnoxious office of dictator, summoned a meeting of 
the comitia for the election of consuls ; and having secured, of 
course, his own nomination, in eleven days surrendered his 
dictatorial office, though in that short space of time, he had 
adopted more measures for the consolidation of his power than 
many rulers would have enacted in years. 

Cicero intimates in his letters that many in Italy were 
dissatisfied with Caesar's imperial sway, and had become 
much alienated from him. But Cicero's testimony upon this 
point can not be received without some distrust. It can 
hardly be doubted that the great mass, both of the army and 
the people, were quite cordial in support of Caesar, as the 
great advocate of popular rights. So far as we can now 
judge of the medayres adopted by Caesar in the administra- 
tion of pubfic affidrs, they were eminently vnse, just, and 
adapted to promote the public weaL But the friends of 
CflBsar are so eulogistic in his praise, and his enemies so bitter 
in their denunciations, that one who desires, ever so earn- • 
estJy, to be impartial, at times finds it exceedingly difficult 
to pronounce judgment. Julius Caesar was the Napoleon 
Bonaparte of his day, both loved and hated, wit2l the same 
intensity which accompanied the career of the great advocate 
of popular rights in France. 

Caesar had now assembled a powerfbl fleet, and a welt 
disciplined army of twelve legions, at Brundusium, and was 
prepared to cross the Adriatic, and pursue Pompey in Greece. 
Pompey had with him the two consuls who were in office at 
the time of his flight, and about two hundred of the senates 
He consequently claimed that he was supported by the 



sit ITALY. 

Authority of the goyemment, and that CflBsar was but • 
traitor and a rebel. He established himself at ThessaloniMi 
organized the goyemm^it there, and with great vigor aB^ 
iiembled, upon the western shores of Greece, armies and fleets 
to dispute the landing of Caesar. He had nine legions of 
Roman citizens marching beneath his banners — all yeteraa 
soldiers — and also an auxiliary force raised in Greece. His 
cavalry amounted to seven thousand. It is, however, impos- 
sible now to ascertain the full number of his army. Fully 
conscious of C»sar's military ability, Pompey was indefatiga- 
ble in drilling his «rmy, in the most effecdve manner possible, 
in all the exercises of warfare. To encourage the soldiers, he 
himself took an active part in ihese exercises, like the hum« 
blest man in the ranks, throwing the javelin, and performing 
feats of horsemanship which few could rivaL It was his hope 
and expectation soon to be able to return to Italy with an 
army so numerous and well-disciplined, as to be able to sweep 
all opposition before him. 

He issued a proclamation denouncing the rebellion of 
CflBsar, and threatening with the most direful punishment, not 
only all those who had manifested any sympathy with Caasar 
and his cause, but aU who had not vigorously and persistently 
opposed him. The far-famed manifesto of the Duke of Brunei 
* wick, when on the march to crush the republic in Prance, was 
but the echo of Pompey's proclamation, when prepared to 
march back with his emigrants, and reestablish aristocratic 
usurpation in Rome. Even Cicero, with all his patridaii 
proclivities, admits that the triumph of Pompey and his party 
would have been followed by proscriptions as unsparing as 
those of SyUa. Pompey was by no means a merciless man, 
but he could not restrain his party. He was but the foam, on 
the summit of the billow, swept along by a force which he 
could not control. By no possibility could he retain his 
supremacy but by subserviency to the power which created 
him. Even the most bitter opponents of Cnsar admit that 



THB BT&UQGLB AND FALL OF POMPBT 813 

like aristocratic party was at that time profligate beyoud aD 
hope of redemptioii. The triumph of CsBsar was unquestioii' 
ably promotive of the happiness of mankind. 

CsBsar, ever on the alert, took Pompey by surprise, and 
with a division of his army, amounting to twenty thousand 
men, crossed the Adriatic sea and effected a hmding, unop- 
posed, near Orioum, which important town immediately sur- 
rendered, thus affording CfBsar a foothold from which he 
could not easily be driven. The fleet was immediately sent 
back to Brundusium for another division of the army. Bibu- 
lus, who was in command of Pompey's fleet stationed at Cor- 
cyra, chagrined that Csesar had thus eluded his vigilance, 
immediately dispatched his whole force, hoping to intercept 
at least some of the transports employed in the passage. He 
succeeded only in capturing thirty empty vessels on their 
return to Brundusium. With atrocious cruelty, he bound the 
seamen in the ships, which he set on fire, leaving the wretched 
captives to perish in the flames. Then lining the coast with 
his powerful navy, from Salone to Oricum, a distance of about 
two hundred miles, he watched, day and night, that no more 
soldiers should be landed in Greece. 

It was now late in November. The season was inclement 
and chilling. Storms swept the Adriatic. These ancient 
ships-of-war were what we should call boats, without decks, 
constructed merely for coasting. The crews were generally 
accustomed to go on shore for their meals, and to sleep. 
With such absence of accommodations, the crews were 
exposed to very great distress, by remaining continually at 
sea, without any opportunity to land. Caesar guarded the 
shore, that the sailors should not leave their boats. Bibulus 
guarded the sea so that Csesar could receive no supplies. Both 
parties suffered very severely, and Bibulus would have per- 
ished but for relief which he obtained by occasionaUy landing 
on the island of Corcyra. The fate of CsBsar seemed sealed. 
He was blockaded on the shores of Greece, with but a small 



314 ITALY 

part of his troops, oat off from all his magaEsmes, with a vastlj 
outnumbering army, mider the command of Pompej, in his 
rear, and with an invincible fleet threatening him on the sea. 
In view of this formidable force, the transports at Brundusium 
did not dare attempt the passage. Bibulus was savage in his 
warfare. Seizing a private vessel, which had attempted the 
passage, he put the whole ship's company to a cruel death 
though there wer^ no troops on board. 

CsBsar was not a man to act long merely on the defensira 
At Dyrachium Pompey had collected his principal magamnes, 
having intended to establish there his winter quarters, that he 
might be at hand to resist CsBsar's invasion, which he did 
not suppose would be undertaken until spring. When Csssar 
landed, Pompey was near Thessalonica, just commencing hif 
march for his winter quarters, on the great road which crossed 
the heart of Greece, from the JBgean to the Ionian ga]£ 

Hearing of the landing of CsBsar, in consternation, he 
goaded on his battalions to forced marches, that he might 
save his imperiled magazines. By night and by day, hardly 
resting for food or sleep, the panting legions toiled on, their 
path being marked by the bodies of the dying and the dead, 
who had dropped exhausted by the way. He thus, at a vast 
expense of suffering and life, attained his object, and took 
possession of his magazines before Caasar could reach them. 
Thwarted in this endeavor, CsBsar halted in an impregnable 
position on the banks of the Apsus, where he pitched his 
tents, and received the homage of the surrounding country, 
proposing to await the arrival of the remainder of his army. 
His encampment was extended along the left bank of the 
Apsus. Pompey advancing from Dyrachium, took poases- 
moa of the right bank of the same stream* 

While both parties were sununoning all thdr energies for 
a decisive struggle, CaBsar, — ^sincerely, say his friends, insidi- 
ously say his enemies, — sent a messenger to Pompey urging 
peace. After dilating upon the woes which civil war mud 



THS BTBUGGLS AHB VALL OT POMPST. 815 

CDtafl upon their ooimtry, he proposed, with apparent fairness, 
that each commander should take an oath, in the presence of 
his army, to disband his forces within three days ; and that the 
terms of peace should be referred to the arbitration of the 
senate and people of Rome. Pompey, who then apparently 
had Caesar in his power, rejected the proposals with disdain, 
impatiently exchuming: 

^^ I yalne neither life nor country, if I most receive them as 
a &yor from Caesar." 

Bibnlns, whose sufferings upon the sea were very great, 
proposed also to Caesar a truce. "I grant it willingly," 
Caesar replied, ^^ and will allow you to come to the land to 
obtain reenforcements and supplies, if you will allow me to 
obtsdn the same by sea." This proposal was not acceptable, 
and the conference was broken off^ and with renewed diligence 
both parties prepared for the arbitration of battle. The tide 
of popular sympathy was constantly flowing toward Caesar; 
and Pompey resorted to the most seyere and even ignominious 
measures to prevent his troops from holding any communica- 
tion with the enemy. M. Antonius was at Brundusium, in 
command of the second division of Caesar's army, which was 
impatiently awaiting an opportunity to cross over to Greece 
to join their iUustrious leader. 

Bibulus, in command of the fleet, worn down by fatigue, 
anxiety, and the exposure and hardships of his condition, sick- 
ened and died. The intrigues among Pompey's generals was 
such that he found it difficult to fix upon a successor. There 
was thus no harmony of action in the squadron, each com 
mander acting for himself. The sun was now returning from 
the south, and the soft airs of spring began to succeed the 
storms of winter. Caesar grew very impatient of delay, and 
wrote to his officers, at Brundusium, condemning them severely 
for their want of energy of action, declaring that they had 
lost many opportunities in which they might have crossed to 
Greece, and ordering them to put to sea with the very first 



316 ITALY. 

fair wind, and steer for the ooaet of ApoUonia, directing them 
npon their arrival to ran their vessels ashore, as the vessels 
themselves were of but little importance. 

In his burning impatience, he resolved to cross himself 
to Brundusium, in defiance of the vigilance of the enemy's 
squadron, and in person expedite the embarkation of hm 
troops. On a dark and stormy night, he left his encampment 
in disguise, bribed the boatmen to brave the peril of wind and 
wave, and made an endeavor, all but desperate, through the 
tempest, to cross the Adriatio sea, a distance of one hundred 
miles. It was on this occasion that he is reported to have 
said to the seamen, who were in dismay at the howling of the 
tempest and the sweep of the billows, '' Fear not. You carry 
Cfldsar and his fortunes." But mortal strength could not 
triumph over the elements in that tempestuous night, and the 
seamen were compelled to put back and return to the Grecian 
shore. 

The letters of Ossar had, however, roused his officers to 
effort. Twenty-four thousand men and eight hundred cavalry 
were embarked, and set sail from Brundusium with a south 
wind. They successftdly crossed the sea and effected a land- 
ing. Sixteen of Pompey's ships, from those which had 
pursued them, were driven on shore and wrecked. Caesar 
treated their crews with the greatest humanity, and dismissed 
them, unharmed, to their homes. This second division of 
CsBsar's army was landed at Xymphaeum, on the coast of 
Blyricum, several miles north of Dyrachium. But CaBsar and 
Pompey, from the shore, had watched the movements of the 
fleet with eager eyes. They both immediately put theii' armies 
in motion, fi^'om the banks of the Apsus — Caesar to effect a 
junction with his troops, and Pompey to prevent it. 

Caesar was successful, and Pompey, apprehensive that the 
united force might fall upon him, commenced a rapid retreat 
toward his intrenchments. Caesar now very energetically 
renewed offensive operations, and pursued Pompey, offeiing 



TB^ BTBVaaLS AKD VALL OF POMPST. tlY 

ttn battle. Pompey, who had not dared to meet him eyea 
before the arrival of the reinforcements, declined the chat 
ici^e. Cnsar, flnshed with suocess, and bidding proud 
dt^umce to hia intimidated foe, commenced a march npoa 
DTracbium, and, by astonishing nqndity of movementy 
readied the walls in season to cat off Pompey's entrance into 
its gates. Pompey, thns baffled, intrenched himself upon a 
ndghboring hill, which commanded a small bay, where hi 
ships could safely lie at anchor. 

There was now bvt little probability of the speedy termi- 
oation of the war. The two generals were men <^ consan^- 
mate ability. Each was at the head of a powerful army, and 
each had command of almost inexhaustible resonroes. Csosar's 
first endeavor now was to blockade Pompey's army oa the 
^ninence, called Petra, where it was intrenched. Hie strug- 
gle of military strategy which ensned was one of the most 
memorable which war has recorded. As Caesar reared his 
fortifications on the most commanding eminences, connecting 
them an together by ramparts and ditches, Pompey constructed 
opposdng ramparts, bound together by continuous works, over 
a space of fiA;een miles in circuit. The embattled fortresses of 
Pompey amounted to twenty-four in number. Frequent con^ 
fficts, during the construction of these defenses, occurred 
between the hostile armies. Caesar's blockading line extended 
over eighteen miles. These immense works required an 
amount of labor almost incredible, labor which, if appropri- 
ated to any useful object, might have been of incalculable 
benefit to mankind. Both armies suffered much, in various 
ways, during this extraordinary warfare. 

Pompc}''s military reputation was seriously damaged by 
the fact, that, declining Caesar's chaileuge to battle, he had 
allowed himself to be thus cooped up by his adversary. 

** He can not," wrote Dolabella to Cicero, " escape with 
honor ; driven as he has been, from Italy, deprived of Spam 
with the loss of a veteran army, and now even blockaded in 

10 



218 ITALY. 

his camp, a disgrace which scarcdy any other thaa oar 
mander has ever endured.'* 

Want and famine began at length to reign within Pompey^s 
lines, and he resolved to break from his confinement, hewing a 
path through the serried ranks of his foes. Having selected 
his point and carefully matured all of his arrangements, at the 
earhest dawn of day he made the assault, striking by surprise, 
and hewing his way with prodigious slaughter, through the 
legions which were hastily gathered to oppose him. GsBsar, 
who was at a remote part of his lines, hastened with three 
legions to the scene of conflict. But Pompey's troops, flushed 
with victory, fell upon Caesar's soldiers, in the confusion of 
their march, and Cssar had the mortification of seeing his 
troops put to utter rout. The flight was so precipitate and 
headlong, notwithstanding Csesar's most vigorous efforts to 
arrest it, that Pompey, apprehensive of an ambuscade, checked 
the pursuit. This victory of Pompey rendered it necessary 
for Csesar to retreat. He accordingly, in the night, sent ofl, 
under a strong escort, his baggage, his sick and wounded, and 
m the first gray of the morning, followed with the whole body 
of his troops. 

Pompey immediately and resolutely commenced pursuit. 
Caesar, however, effected his retreat with but little loss, and in 
four days gained some intrenchments which he had previously 
occupied, at ApoUonia. Resting here for a short time to 
refresh his weary troops, he resumed his march, directing his 
steps across the country toward Thessaly. In the rich plains 
of this province, Caesar found abundance for his troops. The 
first town of importance which he encountered upon bis march, 
wa? Gomphi. He found the gates shut against him, and took 
the place by storm. Metropolis, the next city they reached, 
surrendered at once. All the other towns of Thessaly then 
readily yielded, and Caesar found himself in the midst of an 
•pulent country, covered with waving har\rests. Here, on 



TBS 8TBUOGLE aVD TALL OV POMPBT. S19 

the plamsof PhanaBft^ he established himselfy awaiting tiie 
arrival of Pompey, and preparing for a decisive battle. 

Pompey, elated with the victory of Dyraohiiun, foQowed 
eagerly after CsBsar, and pitched his oamp in the &ce of his 
foe. CfBsar immediately offered battle, but Pompey for some 
days declined, keeping his troops so effectually intrenched, that 
Cffisar oonld not venture to attack them. Bat at length, both 
armies appeared, drawn up in parallel lines upon this memoi^ 
able pkdn. It was the year 48 b. a From the best informa- 
tion now to be obtained, it appears that Pompey had forty-fire 
thousand infantry, and seven thousand cavalry. Csdsar had but 
twenty-two thousand in&ntry and one thousand cavalry. 
These were the r^ular armies. On both sides there were also 
anxiHary troops, but their number is not known. The Romans 
eonsidered the auxiliaries as of very little importance. 

The dgnal fi)r battle was given by Ciesar, and his soldiers 
rushed forward to the onset, which then consisted mainly of a 
band to hand fight. The action soon became general, and 
Msventy-five thousand men struggled against each other, with 
the most demoniac fury, for hours. But at length, Pompey's 
^roes were entirely routed, and they fled in indescribable 
confusion from the plain, leaving the ground covered, with the 
^yii^ and the dead. The darkness of night alone terminated 
the pursuit and the slaughter. All who surroidered were 
treated with great humanity. Pompey's army was annihi- 
lated, and Csssar was so thoroughly the victor, that no further 
foe remained to present any serious obstacle to his sway. 

Pompey, with a few followers, fled from the fatal field of 
Fharsalia, a hopeless fugitive. For a time, he seemed over 
whelmed and stunned by the blow, perhaps enduring as much 
mental suffering as in this mortal state the human soul has 
oipacity to endure. In disguise, he escaped from the field, 
aooompanied by about thirty horsemen. Through the long 
hours of the night, he rode in silence and anguish, until he 
reached the shores of the ^gean sea, near the mouth of the 



S20 aTALT. 

Peneus. He there embarked in a small trading vessel which 
ebanced to be passing, and crossed over to Mitylene, in the 
island of Lesbos, on the Asiatic coast, where he had left his 
wife Cornelia and his son Sextus. 

The domestic character of Pompey was singularly pure, 
and this interview with his family was tender, affectionate, 
and sorrowful in the extreme. Cornelia had received no 
tidings from her husband since the great victory of Dyra- 
chium, of which she had heard the most exaggerated reports. 
The appearance of her husband before her, a fugitive and 
woe-stricken, caused a shock she was poorly prepared to 
meet. She immediately joined him on board the vessel, and 
they were detained two days in the harbor by contrary winds 
Though the Mityleneans urged him to come on shore anr 
receive their hospitality and testimonials of their homage, he 
firmly and magnanimously declined, saying, '^I will not expose 
my friends to the resentment of the conqueror, by availing 
myself of their kindness." 

Conscious that his power had vanished forever, and that 
his great rival was now sovereign, with none to dispute his 
sway, he urged all to submit, assuring them that they would 
receive no treatment from Caesar but that which was just and 
magnanimous. There were still a few who were disposed to 
adhere to the falling fortunes of Pompey. Several small 
vessels joined him, and they sailed along the shores of the 
Mediterranean to seek refuge in Syria. They attempted to 
land at Rhodes, but the people, apprehensive of the displeas- 
ure of Caesar, would not allow the Kttle fleet to enter their 
harbor. Pompey, deeply chagrined, continued his voyage, 
often attempting to land, but as often meeting with a repulse, 
mitil he reached the coast of Cilicia. 

This Asiatic province was governed by Sdpio, the &thei 
of Cornelia, and Pompey felt confident of meeting here with 
hospitatity and support. But when they reached Paphos, on 
the island of Cyprus, they were informed that Antiooh, the 



THB STBUeatS AKD VALL OT POMPXT. Itl 

mpitai of Syria, bad dedared for CmMur, and that a deeroe 
hod been issned, that none of the fogitiyes oi Pomp^a V^J 
riiofdd be permitted to land iip<Mi the coast. In degeodoo, aad 
afanost in despair, Pompey and hia frimda, in the dark oabin 
of the galley, held a deliberation aa to the course next to be 
pnraned. It was at length decided to seek refuge in Egypt. 
The yoniig king Ptolemy was bat a boy, but his &ther had 
been placed upon the throne by the influence of Pompey, and 
It was believed that the son would not be insensible to thia 
debt of gratitude. 

The sorrowing fogitives again raised their anchors and 
niled for PdoBium, near one of the mouths of the Nik. 
The boy-king was then waging war with his sister, the 
renowned Cleopatra, who was endeayorinft to wrest the 
crown from his brow. He was at the head of his army in 
the Ticinity of Pelusium. An envoy was immediately di» 
patched by Pompey to his camp. The king received the 
exvoy with the utmost apparent cordiality, and sent a press- 
ing invitation for Pompey to repair immediately to his head^ 
quarters. But this invitation was an act of the blackest 
treachery. The king's council had held a session to deliberate 
upon the matter. They decided that it would be dangerous 
to receive Pompey, lest it should give offense to the aUrpowep> 
fhl CiBBar; that it would be perilous to reject him, lest bj 
a^nne sudden turn of fortune he should again find himself in 
p<»wer. They, therefore, counseled that he should be invited 
to the camp, and then murdered. ^'Dead dogs," said the 
leading advocate of this measure, ^^ do not bite." 

A boat was sent by the king to convey Pompey from the gat 
ley to the shores where Ptoio-'iy had repaired, and was waiting 
in person, with a group of hin -principal generals, to receive hink 
Several of the officers oi: tlie Egyptian king were in the boat. 
Amoi^ these, was a Roman centurion, L. Septimius, then in 
the employ of Ptolemy, but who had formerly served under 
E^>m|»ey• Tmapej Altered the bai*ge, accompanied by a few 



ass ITALY. 

of his friends, and immediately reoognleed Septhnins, and ad« 
dressed him in a few friendly words, to which Septimius replied 
merely by a nod. It was some distance from the galley to the 
shore, and the meUncholy sublimity of the occasion wits such, 
that all sat in silence. At length the boat touched the beach. 
Pompey rose from his seat, and as he was in the act of step- 
ping on shore, Septimius plunged a dagger into his back. The 
other assassins at once fell upon him with their swords. The 
heroic man,' never greater, perhaps, than in the hour of his 
death, uttered not a cry, and attempted no resistance or de« 
fense, but folding his mantle over his &ce, received in silence 
the blows which fell upon him, until he sank lifeless upon the 
sand. 

Cornelia, holding her little son Sextus by the hand, stood 
upon the deck of the galley, anxiously following her husband 
with her eye, and was a witness to the whole scene. As he 
husband fell, she uttered a shriek of anguish, which pierced 
every ear in the galleys and along the shore. The murderers 
cut off the head of Pompey and embalmed it, to be sent, as a 
present, to CsBsar, leaving the headless trunk upon the beach. 
As soon as the crowd had dispersed, the friends of Pompey, 
recovering a little from their consternation, broke to pieces a 
boat which they found wrecked upon the shore, and burning 
the remains, gathered the ashes in an urn to be transmitted to 
Cornelia. In the meantime, the little fleet which had con- 
veyed Pompey to Egypt, put to sea, taking with them Cornelia, 
in a state of utter distraction and despair. The Egyptians at 
first endeavored to intercept them, but soon relinquished the 
pursuit, and the fleet reached Tyre in safety. 

Thus perished one of the greatest and best of the men of 
ancient times. Pompey, as the leader of the aristocratic party, 
was far superior to his party in elevation of character and 
in moral worth. Though devoted to the supremacy of the 
patricians, and hostile to popular liberty, he was a man of 
mtegrity, rare in those days, — of spotless purity in all his do* 



THB STBUGGLE AND FALL OF POMPET. 22S 

mestio rdationfi, virtaes then, still more rare; and the amiability 
of his character won the enthusiastic attachment of all who 
knew him best. Though hj no means equal in genius to his 
illustrious rival, he developed qualities of mind and energies of 
action, which have justly entitled him to the designation, which 
he has now borne for eighteen hundred years, and will bear 
through an time, of Pompxt the Great. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE TRIUMPH OF OJSSAB AND THE FATE OF POMPBTS', 
Fbom 48 b. a to 44 b. 0. 

CiMMXSGY or COSAB.— PUBBVIT OF POMPXT.— ThS EOTPTIAN WAB.~-0ji8AB Aim GLXO- 
PATBA« — GAPTUBB Or PhABOB. — POPTTLABITT OF C^fiSAB. — LoSS OF THB AlBZAK* 
DBIAN LiBBABT. — ^BbIBF GoNFLIOT WITH THB KiNO OF PONTUS.— QUBLLHTO TH> 

Mutiny.— Cato's Effobts in Africa.— Thb Afbioan Wab.— Dbfkat and Death 
OF 801P10. — SniciDB OF Cato.— Thb Spanish Wab. — Dxath of Pompby's Son.— 
CssAR^B Rbtubn to Romb. — HiB Tbiumph.— His Adhinistbativb MxASirBBS and 
Enbbot.— His Ghabaotxb.— Ghabaotbb of Gioxbo. 

rilHE morning after the battle of Pharsalia, Caesar gazed 
-*- sadly upon the field, covered with the dead, and exclaimed, 
in melaucholj tones, " They would have it so." All the pris- 
oners who fell into his hands were treated with that clemency, 
— so unusual in those days, which he ever manifested. As the 
strife in Greece was now at an end, Caesar sent back most of 
his army to Brundusium, and, taking with him a small body 
of cavalry, engaged eagerly in the pursuit of Pompey. He 
crossed the Hellespont, and followed down with his horsemen, 
the coast of Asia Minor. For a long time, he could get no 
tidings of the fugitive. At length he heard that he had been 
seen in Cyprus, and he inferred from that, that he was direct' 
ing his steps toward Egypt. 

He immediately collected a fleet of ten galleys, and sailed 
for Egypt, landing at Alexandria. Here he received the 
tidings of Pompey's death ; and at the same time, the head of 
the murdered man was presented to him, as if it would be an 
acceptable gift. Caesar was shocked at the sight, and could 
not refrain from weeping, as he gazed upon the gory remains 
of his former son-in-law, friend, and companion-in-arms. The 



THS TRIUMPH OV OMBAM. ftS5 

grfef of Cfesar was unquestionably onoere, and lie was filled 
with strong indignation against the murderers of Pompey. 
Through all the remainder of his life, he manifested great 
respect for his memory. There is now at Alexandria a colmnn 
of remarkable architectural beauty, called Pompey's Pillar, 
which tradition says, was reared by Ciesar, a tribute to the 
greatness of his unhappy rival. This column, which is about 
one hundred feet high, is formed of stone, in three blocks, the 
pedestal, shaft, and capital. It is even to the present day, ao 
object of world-wide interest and admiration. 

The death of Pompey was the signal for the dismember 
ment of all his forces, and the termination of the war. T^c 
soldiers eagerly avidled themselves of the opportunity to throw 
down their arms, for they had long been, in heart, in sym- 
pathy with Csesar. Plebeian soldiers, fighting the battles 
of their patrician masters, are ever half conscious that they are 
slaves, riveting their own chains. Even multitudes of the 
patricians hasted to bask in the beams of Csesar's rising sun 
Cicero, who had repaired to Dyrachium, and was anxiously 
awaiting the issue of the campaign, that he might decide 
which party to join, promptly returned to Italy to be early in 
his congratuIationB of the victor. Pompey's eldest son was 
so enraged with Cicero for this apparently unprincipled deser- 
tion, that he would have killed him, but for the protection 
which Cato afforded the ^^ willow backed" man, who was at 
least illustrious as an orator, if he were destitute of all moral 
courage and decision. 

Cato had adhered to the cause of Pompey ; with a small 
fleet he followed him in his flight, and hearing the mournful 
tidings of his death, took Cornelia and Sextus under his pro- 
tection and sailed for Africa, where he devoted himself to the 
organization of a force to renew the war agamst Caesar. For 
a few months, there were disturbances in various parts of the 
extended empire, but nothing which could be deemed serious 
oppofdtion to CsBsar's sway. The whole tenor of his policy 

10* 



was toward the extencnoii of equal rights fbr aH This was 
the talisman of his power. It might be said of Rome in that 
day, as Napoleon said of France, ^^ Que le peuple Fran^ais 
tenait plus k Pegalit^, qu' k la liberte ;" The French people 
desire equality of rights rather than liberty* A man can 
easily surrender a portion of his natural liberty for the promo* 
don of the public good, if the whole community make the 
same surrender. But when a burden is placed upon one por- 
tion of the people, fi*om which another portion is exempted, 
there must always be an irrepressible conflict. 

Dictatorial power was now again conferred upon Ciesar, 
who had not as yet returned from Egypt, which he was to 
hold until tranquillity should be restored. Antonius, or Mark 
Antony, as history and tragedy have embalmed his name, as 
OsBsar's master of horse, was intrusted with the r^ency at 
Rome. He is described as a man whose profligacy of char- 
acter was only equaled by his energy. Indeed, Christian 
morality seems t6 have been unknown in those days. The 
best of men were guilty of acts which would now consign 
their names to infamy. Even Pompey, vtrhose virtues are so 
highly lauded, and who, in purity of character, was vastly in 
advance of his times, from motives of ambition, discarded his 
wife, Antistia, and robbed another man of his. wife, JElmilia. 
This was contrary to written law and to all the instincts of 
the human heart. But these distinguished men generally had 
no belief in a future life, and expediency was their 6nly role 
of action — expediency embracing the range of this brief life 
only. Paul, in his epistle to the Romans, has given a truthful 
and graphic account of the condition of Rome at this day. 

Honors and power were now showered thickly upoc 
Offisar. A popular vote conferred upon him the consulship 
for five years, and the ofiice of tribune for life. This was an 
office appointed expressly for the protection of the Roman 
plebeians against the encroachments of the patriaans. The 
disposition of Cioero to be in popular &Tor, now that die 



THB TRIUMPH OF G^SAB. 927 

popular party were in the supremacy, is indicated by the fact 
that his son-in-law, Dolabella, obtained an election as one of 
the tribunes of the people, and immediately proposed the 
infamous and radical democratic measure for a general aboli- 
tion of debts, and for exempting all tenants from rents, for a 
space of one year. But here again we see a strong resem- 
blance between Ossar and Napoleon. The Roman conqueror 
was as hostile to mob violence as he was to aristocratic 
usurpation. And when the mob rallied on the pavements, in 
advocacy of the infamous measures proposed by Dolabella, 
the troops of CsBsar swept the streets, with gleaming swords 
and clattering hoofs, ^^ quelling the insurgent sections," and 
eight hundred of the rioters were slain. 

Lnmediately after the battle of Pharsalia, C»sar issued a 
proclamation to his army, urging every soldier to save at 
least one of the enemy. The instinctive gener<^sity and tact 
which inspired this singular order, are characteristic of the 
man. The decree immediately enkindled emotions of human- 
ity in every heart ; and mercy, in the bosoms of the soldiers, 
took the place of the passions of war. Though fifteen thou- 
sand of Pompey's troops were slain upon the field of Phar- 
salia, the slaughter would have been vastly greater but for 
this decree, which saved the Hves of twenty-four thousand, 
who were taken prisoners. These men, thus saved, were 
easily incorporated as fiiends and brothers into the legions 
of CsBsar. 

We have before mentioned that Ptolemy and his sister 
Cleopatra were struggling in Egypt for the crown. CsBsar, 
soon after his arrival at Alexandria, was joined by quite a 
formidable fleet and army. Both of the contestants for the 
throne of the Pharaohs applied to him for support. AH 
Egypt was rent by the strife, and anarchy distracted the 
reahn. The Egyptian government owed Rome a debt which 
CsBsar now needed, but which, under the circumstances, could 
not be paid. He resolved, therefore, to settle the strife, and 



829 ITALY. 

reduce the turbulent kingdom to order. Ptdemy detennined 
to resist his arbitration. Cleopatra, young, beauti^, and 
sensual, resolved to try the effect of her chanus in bribing 
the voluptuous, self-constituted arbitrator to espouse her 
cause. But Ptolemy had so surrounded Caesar's head-quar- 
ters, that Cleopatra could not obtain access to him without 
incurring great danger of being taken captive. With woman'i 
tact, as the story now is told, she accomplished her purpose 
by being rolled up in a bale of carpeting, and thus being 
carried on the shoulders of a man through the guards. 
Caesar, who was delighted with the stratagem and fascinated 
by her beauty, eagerly accepted the surrender of her person. 
Her disgraceful situation in his camp, as lus acknowledged 
and guDty favorite, stung almost to madness the pride of 
Ptolemy, and with indignation, he rejected Caesar's decree, 
that Cleopatra and Ptolemy should share the throne together. 

Woman's guilty love bound Caesar as by a spell. The 
Egyptians rallied around Ptolemy, and the war, called in his- 
tory the Alexandrine war, raged with increasing violence. 
Caesar found it necessary to summon new legions from Italy, 
and the conflict was so severe and protracted, that Caesar, in 
the commentaries generally attributed to his pen, has minutely 
detailed its events. 

Opposite the port of Alexandria, there was an island called 
Pharos, which created the harbor of that renowned seaport. 
It was joined to the continent by a causeway nine hundred 
paces in length, and by a bridge. Upon this island there was 
reared a light-house, also called Pharos, which is reported to 
have been five hundred feet in height. It was said that the 
brilliant light, ever blazing from this enormous summit, could 
be seen over the waves of the Mediterranean for a distance of 
over one hundred miles. The tower was built in successive 
stories, each ornamented with balustrades, galleries, and col- 
umns, and from its eminent utility and gc rgeous architecture, it 
was renowned throughout the then known wc rid. "B'ar and 



THS TBIirXPH aV O^SAB. tM 

wMe over the stormy waters of the Mediterraaean this meteor 
glowed, inyiting and guiding the mariners in ; and both its 
welcome and its goidance were doubly prized in these ancient 
days, when there was neither oompass nor sextant upon which 
tbej could rely." 

CsBsar, after a bloody strife, took possession of .his island 
and the renown of the exploit spread as would now the tidings 
of the capture of Gibraltar. In all these conflicts, Caesar won 
Ae confidence and the affection of his soldiers by his readiness 
in sharing their toils and dangers. In the hour of battle he 
was ever found in the post of the greatest danger and the 
hardest conflict. It was also evident that Ctesar, now lov^ 
inspired, courted the admiration of Cleopatra by his chivalrio 
daring in her behalf. In the course of the struggle for t^e 
possession of this island, Caesar was in a boat which, in the 
confusion of the fight, became so crowded that it was in mo- 
mentary danger of ainldng. He leaped into the sea and swam 
to a ship at some distance, holding above his head in his left 
hand some important papers which he had, and drawing after 
him his mantle of imperial purple, wluch he held by a comer, 
between his teeth. 

It was during this war that a large portion of the Alexan- 
drian library was destroyed, a disaster so irreparable to the 
world, that by scholars it will never cease to be deplored. The 
kings of Egypt, many of whom were renowned as the munifi- 
dent patrons of learning, had made a vast collection of books 
or manuscripts, thai inscribed on parchment rolls. The num- 
ber of these volumes amounted to seven hundred thousand. 
When we remember that these rolls were all written by hand, 
with the greatest care, and at a vast expense, and that many 
of them were richly ornamented, it must be admitted that one 
can with difficulty exaggerate the magnitude of the loss. In 
fact, the Alexandrian library was the depository of the whole 
body of ancient literature. 

Caesar, m the heat of battle, set fire to some Egyptaao 



SW ITALY. 

galleys, which were near the shore. The flames, driven by the 
wind, spread to some buildings which were on the quay, and 
then extended until one of the most important of the library 
buildings was wrapped in the destructive conflagration. It is 
mainly in consequence of this loss that fragments only of 
ancient history have descended to our times. CsBsar at length 
brought the war to a successful issue, and placed his paramour 
Cleopatra upon the throne, in conjunction with her younger 
brother, a boy eleven years of age ; Ptolemy having perished 
during the war. He was drowned in the Nile while attempt- 
ing to swim the stream to escape from an awful defeat. Csesar 
returned to Rome. Cleopatra soon poisoned her young 
brother, that she might reign untrammeled, and afl;er a few 
years of sin and misery, to which we shall hereafter refer, she 
fioally committed suicide by exposing her arm to the bite of 
an asp. 

Caesar returned to Italy by land, passing through Syria, and 
receiving the homage of all the petty princes on his route. The 
king of Pontus attempted to oppose him. Caesar crushed him 
with one blow, and reported the battle in the famous words, 
" Veni^vidi^ vici^'*^ I came, I saw, I conquered. Caesar had but 
just arrived in Rome, and was preparing for a campaign in 
Africa, where Cato was endeavoring to maintain the banners of 
revolt against his sway, when a mutiny broke out in Caesar's 
army, which was rendezvoused in Campania. In a tumultuous 
array, which spread consternation throughout the capital, they 
approached its walls. Caesar threw open the gates for their 
admission, and met them in the Campus Martins, demanding 
why they had left their quarters, and what were their com- 
plaints. They demanded release from further military ser- 
vice, upon the claim that the term of their engagements had 
expired. 

Caesar promptly replied that their complaints were reason- 
able and their demands just, assuring them that they should 
immediately receive their discharge, and the grants of land 



THE TBIUKPH OF O^SAB. fSI 

wiaA had formerlj been promised them. The soldiers were 
qpnte miprepared for this treatment, and finding that CsBsai 
was perfectly ready to dispense with their services, they began 
to hesitate and to express a wish to remain. Caesar appre- 
ciated the advantage he had gained, and while expressing 
deep grief that his fiiithfiil soldiers should wish to leave his 
service, persisted in giving them their discharge. 

Hie tide was now tamed, and with full flow rushed in the 
oUi« direction. So urgent were the soldiers in their entreaties 
to be retained, that he at length consented to receive them all, 
excepting the tenth legion, which had been' his favorito corps. 
He declared that he could never again recdve them into bis 
service. But even this legion, in the fervor of its zeal, per- 
sisted in following him without his orders, hoping, in the field 
of battie, to perform feats of heroism which should secure 
their forgiveness. They were finally received to favor, bat 
the legion itself was disbanded, and its members were inoop- 
porated in otiier divisions of the army. 

With his authority over his troops thus effectaally secured, 
he set out on his expedition to Africa. His fleet touched at 
UlybsBum, on the eastern extremity of Sicily, on the seventeenth 
of December. At this point, he had assembled a force of about 
thirty thousand infimtry and two thousand cavalry. With these 
he crossed the sea, and landed on the African coast, at Hadru- 
metam, near ancient Carthage, on the thirtieth ot December. 
In crossing from Sicily to the African shore, a distance of 
about one hundred miles, the fleet was dispersed by a storm, 
so that C»sar landed, at first, with but three thousand men. 
Hadrumetum was so strongly fortified by Cato and the advo- 
cates of his cause, that it was hopeless to attack it with so 
smaH a force; Cnsar therefore marched along the shore for 
■ome distMioe^ until he finmd a strcmg position, where he tfarav 
dp an iptrenohed camp and waited for additional reenCiroa- 
ments. 

The opposition in Africa was found to be quite formidabhb 



t88 ITALT 

A large army had been organized, and a fleet bad been col- 
lected, sufficiently strong to cause great annoyance to Caesar. 
Cato and Scipio were at the head of these forces, but they 
were both consdous that notwithstanding their vast numerical 
superiority, they were but poorly prepared to encounter the 
Teteran legions of CaBsar, sustained as CaBsar was, by the symi- 
pathies of the popular mind. Utica was at that time the 
principal city of Africa. It was situated on the coast but a 
few miles from the ruins of Carthage. Cato had constituted 
this city the chief rendezvous for his army, and the magaane 
for his materials of war. 

Immediately upon Caesar's landing, the populace began to 
flock to his camp. Bogud, an African prince, and Sitius, a 
Roman general, then in exile, eagerly joined Caesar, bringing 
with them disciplined troops and military stores. The dis- 
persed ships also, rapidly arrived with their detachments, and 
Caesar soon found himself in a condition to assume offensive 
operations with the utmost confidence of success. Early in 
April he emerged from his ramparts, and commenced hia 
march. Scipio was strongly intrenched at Thapsus. A deci- 
sive battle was fought, a second Pharsalia, in which the defeat 
of the foe was speedy, sanguinary, and entire. The slaughter 
was awftd, for Caesar's soldiers, many of whom were Africans, 
had no mercy, and notwithstanding Caesar's utmost efforts to 
restrain them, glutted themselves with blood. Scipio escaped 
by sea, from the wreck of his army, knowing not where to go 
to seek an asylimi. But he was pursued by Caesar's ships, 
and finding escape hopeless, killed himself to avoid the humil- 
iation of falling into the hands of his foes. The battle of 
Thapsus was fought in the year 46 b. c. 

The tidings of this battle spread rapidly, far and wide, 
increasing the conviction that Caesar was invincible. A few 
of the cavalry, ftigitives from the scene of the carnage, carried 
the intelligence to Utica, where Cato was in command. This 
illustrious advocate of patrician privilege, with spirit unbroken 



THB TBIUMPH OV O^BAB. 

hy tbe disagter, endeaTored to rally his dejected ibroes to 
oontmne the conflict. Bat finding all his efforts in vain, and 
that a panic, whidi no hnman power could check, pervaded 
his army, he gave them all permismon to depart and oonsuh 
their own safety. 

llie ships in the harbor were soon crowded with the fngi- 
tives^ Cato manifested much interest in seeing all on board 
and safely out of the harbor. He then made such open pre- 
parations for the commission of suicide, as to induce his son, 
with tears, to entreat that his father would live for his sake. 
But Cato was too proud to be the recipient of that pardon 
and those fayors which he knew Ctesar would lavish npon 
him. Ite retired to his apartment, cahnly read, for a time, 
Plato's Dialogues, and then plunged his sword into his side 
The servants heard him ftU npon the floor, and rushing to his 
room, found him insaisible. They bound up the wound, 
endeavoring to restore him to life. Reviving for a moment, 
he tore off the bandages, and blood again gushed forth, and 
he instantly expired. . 

Such was the melancholy end of Cato. He was the firm, 
earnest, decisive advocate of patrician supremacy, and the 
unrelenting foe of popular encroachment upon aristociBtic 
usurpation. He was sternly upright, inflexible in his ideas of 
justice, humane according to the measure of those days, but 
haughty, often coarse, and so selfish as to take cowardly reiuge 
for himself in suicide, leaving his famDy to struggle alone is 
the encounter with life's storms. It has been well remarked : 

''The character of Cato, and the circumstances under 
which his suicide was committed makes it, on the whole, the 
most conspicuous act of suicide which history records ; and 
the events which followed show, in an equally conspicuous 
manner, the extreme folly of the deed. In respect to its wick- 
edness, Cato, not having had the light of Christianity before 
him, IS to be lauently judged. As to the foUy of the deed, 
however, he is to be held strictly accountable. If he had liyed 



S84 ITALT. 

and yielded to the conquei ^r, as he might have done, graoe- 
fally and without dishonor, since all his means of resistance 
were exhausted, CaBsar would have treated him with gener- 
osity and respect, and would have taken him to Rome ; as, 
within a year or two of this time Caesar himself was no more, 
Cato's vast influence and power might have been, and im- 
doubtedly would have been, called most effectually into action 
for the benefit of his country." 

When CaBsar heard of the event, he said, " I grudge thee 
thy death, since thou hast grudged me the honor of sparing 
thy life." In those days of darkness and crime, Cato, next to 
Pompey, was the purest man of the patrician party. Hence 
his name, even to the present day, has been a favorite theme 
of panegyric. Caesar advanced to Utica, treating all his foes, 
who remained there, with his characteristic clemency. The 
kingdom was reduced to the form of a Roman province, and 
placed under the government of the renowned historian 
SaUust. The war in Africa being thus terminated, Caesar 
embarked for Rome, and reached the imperial city, after a 
tedious voyage, about the end of May. 

In the meantime, the sons of Pompey had repaired to 
Spain, and through the influence of their name, and their 
father's celebrity, had organized there the partisans of patri- 
cian rule in opposition to the sway of Caesar. To quell this 
disturbance, Caesar embarked for Spain. He took but few 
troops with him, for he was confident that he would find enough 
there ready to espouse the popular cause. The conflict was 
very short, and, as usual, was decided in Caesar's favor. In a 
decisive battle, Cn. Pompey, the son of Pompey the Great, 
escaped bleeding firom the field, where he had seen his whole 
army cut to pieces or dispersed. In his flight, he sought reflige 
in a wild glen of the mountains. He was pursued, found in a 
cave, in a state of extreme destitution and suffering, and his 
captors mercilessly cut off his head and sent it a trophy to 
Caesar. The younger son, Sextus, fle4 to the fastuessea of the 



THB TBIUMPH OV O^BAB. 

fynofdCBj where he was left, a helpless fii^tiye, nnmolested 
Gnsar retamed to Italy, the nndisputed sovereigii of the 
Roman world. 

The trinmphs which Caesar now celebrated in the imperial 
capital, in commemoration of his victories, were*sach as Rome 
had never witnessed before. There were four celebrations, in 
honor of each of his four great campaigns in Egypt, Aoa 
IGnor, Africa, and Spain. These celebrations occupied each 
one day, separated by an interval of several days. In the 
first triumph an accident happened to GsBsar's chariot, which 
detained the procession, so that it was dark before the pro- 
cession had completed its route. But this event added to the 
sublimity of the scene, for forty elephants of the train were 
employed as torch-bearers, each sagacious animal holding a 
flaming flambeau in his trunk, and waving it over the heads 
of the crowd. Still, Caesar regarded the accident as ominous 
of evil, and, to appease the imaged anger of the gods, he 
crawled up the steps of the capital upon his knees ; and it is 
reported that he ever afterward, whenever he entered a car- 
riage, repeated over three times a form of words as a charm 
or a prayer, to secure a prosperous journey. 

In the second triumph, Arsinoe, a younger dster of Cleo- 
patra, appeared in the Egyptian procession which graced the 
occasion. To Caesar Cleopatra was indebted for her throne, 
and probably her sister was sent to Rome, in recognition of 
the debt of gratitude which thus rested upon her. In the 
third triumph, which celebrated the reduction of Asia Minor, 
a banner was unftirled, inscribed with the famous words, 
** Veni, vidi, vici." The splendor of the pageant dazzled all 
eyes and intoxicated all minds ; and when it was announced 
that a sum of money, amoimting to more than twenty millions 
of dollars, was deposited by Caesar in the treasury, as the 
fruits of these conquests, few were disposed to reflect upon 
tiie misery caused by confiscated estates and plundered prov 
tnoea. 



The popularit J of Caesar wm now uaibQanded. He estak 
Hfihed tlie most magmficeat spectacles for the entertainment 
of the people of Rome. Meat, com, and money were distrils- 
uted to the poor. A least was provided for tham, twenty-two 
ihoosand tables hekig spread. It gives one a deplorable idea 
ef the condition of Rome at this time, to be in£:>rmed that 
th^e were three hundred and twenty thousand persons need- 
ing to be fed at the public expense. It is hardly possible 
to credit the accounts, seemingly authentic, which have 
descended to us respecting the splendor of these gifts and 
dit^lays. It is said that to each of his common soldiers, h« 
gave a sum amounting to over eight hundred dollars ; to the 
eaiturions sixteen hundred ddlars; to the military tribunes 
three thousand two hundred. Each man of the cavabry re- 
ceived nearly one thousand dollars. The patricians com- 
plahted that he was pampering the populace with spectacles 
and gold, while he was rc^bbing the opulent and the noble. 

Dramatic aitertainments w^e established in different 
quarters of the city, and w^e perforn^ in various lanr 
guages, £c»r the entertainment of strangers inrom all parts 
of the then known world. It is worthy of remark that even 
then, and surely it is difficult to say why, the profession of a 
play-actor was deemed infamous^ and any patrician who 
i^peared upon the stage forfeited his rank. The games of 
the drcus, gladiatorial combats, and mock sea-fights were 
then popular above all other shows. At one time, there 
Appeared in the gladiatorial arena twenty elephants, thirty 
horsemen, and five hundred soldiers on each side, to contend 
is mortal combat. 

For the display of a naval battle, an immense lake was dug 
near the Tiber, sufficiently large to contain two fleets of gal- 
leys, with two thousand rowers, and one thousand fighting 
uoL on each side. For the amusement of the people they 
BQket» not in sham fight, but in all the sanguinary horrors of 
real war. Vast number^ were killed, and the waters of the 



TRK TKiriKFR OT CJKSAm* Wt 



1 with thw blood. Saoh was Rome. TV 
worid k» snrelr made advances since the a^lrenl of Chri*' 

Li the honid naral battle^ the anhappr captives of Omar 
were compelled to fight each other, the Egyptians beins^ 
•i i aj e J againsi the Tyrians^ The gladiatorial fights were 
mmntij leas cmd and bloody. To protect the :^peotators fircm 
tihe son, alken awnings were spread over the whole foruiu and 
die wiiole length of the Via Sacra. Theise entertainments 
were so aooordant with the barbaric habits and tastes of the 
timesy and so alir ac ti v e as to draw sach multitudes to Rome^ 
that an the principal streets^ and the fields outside of the city, 
were lined with booths for their accommodation. For some 
etnse, not explained, human sacrifices were deemed essential 
to the completion of these festiritieSy and two moi w«e the 
liotima of these revolting rites. 

Gnsar's power seemed now oonsdidated beyond aD fear 
of reverse. Hie senate, amidst other honors which they lav* 
iflhed upon him in the greatest profusion, had iqppointed him 
Rotator for ten years. His statue was raised on a globe in 
the oafHtal, opposite the statue of Jupiter, and on it were 
nisoribed the words, ** He is a demigod.'' His popularity was 
such, and his confidence in the affection of the people so un- 
bounded, that he did not even retain about his person a body 
goard. In exploring the records of these days, one is strongly 
impressed with the semblance between Caesar and Napoleon ; 
though Napoleon, living in a more enlightened age, displayed 
a character of much greater moral worth. We have before 
mentioned that the estates of Pompey were confiscated. Maro 
Antony, whom CsBsar had left in command of Rome, and 
iDtrusted with the government of Italy during his absence, 
purchased these estates at auction of the government, and 
relying upon Cnsar's partiality, was not disposed to pay for 
them. But CSsBsar insisted indignantly on the payment being 



ITALY. 

made. Antony was a disBolute, extraTagsnt man, slwmyi 
involved in peooniary ^nbarrassments. 

The triumph of Csesar was a signal triumph of the intelleo- 
tnal and moneyed classes over the aristocracy of birth. Merit 
was now the passport to office, fer more than had ever before 
been known in Rome. It was, however, a decided additioo 
o Csesar's power that he was himself of such illustrious fio- 
eage as to authorize him to take his stand at the head of the 
proudest of Roman patricians. The laws whi(di C»sar enact- 
ed are generally admitted to have been wise and liberal, and 
int^ided to promote the prosperity of the ^npire. Being 
strictly temperate in his own habits of eating and drinking, he 
attempted to enforce sumptuary laws, which experience has 
proved to be inexpedient. He extended greatly the rights of 
Roman citizenship, and was intending to confer those rights 
upon all the iohabitants within the Alps. Several persons of 
distinguished merit were ennobled ; others were placed in the 
senate ; and all physicians, as well as other professors of the 
liberal arts and sdences, resident at Rome, were admitted to 
the rights of citizenship. 

These measures were very influential in breaking down the 
rigor of aristocratic caste, of uniting the distant provinces in 
closer ties, and in giving more unity to the nation. Nearly aD 
the soil of Italy was cultivated by slaves. To encourage free 
labor, and to relieve the capital of a vast population of igno- 
rant and beggared people, he conferred forms, in the provinces, 
upon more than eighty thousand of the citizens of Rome, thus 
adding also, to the population and the power of regions whicdi 
had been desolated by war. Carthage and Corinth, whidi 
had both been destroyed in the same year, one hundred yeani 
before the reign of Caesar, were by his encouragement rebuilt, 
and again attained a very considerable degree of wealth and 
unportance. It seemed to be a special object of his adminis- 
tration to encourage free labor. Citizens between the ages 
of twenty and forty were not allowed to be absent from their 



THX TBIVlfFH OV O^BAB. S89 

eiutes for more tliaii three years at a time; and all graziers and 
shepherds, on a large scale, were required to employ freemen 
to the amount of at least one third of their laborers. 

The grasp of Caesar's mind is, perhaps, in nothing more 
oonspicnons than in his reform of the calendar. Until his day, 
the division of time was so imperfect, the year consisting of 
bat three hundred and sixty days, that the months were mov- 
ing continually along the year, the summer months passing 
into the winter, and the winter into the summer. The vernal 
equinox was already two months later than it should be. To 
rectify this irregularity, Cesar invited the celebrated Greek 
astronomer Sosigenes to Rome, who, with the assistance of 
Marcus Fabius, by accurate calculations, so arranged the sys- 
tem of months, that the real and nominal time might agree 
with each other. The year was divided into three hundred 
and sixty-five days for three years, adding one day on the 
fourth year. This division was called the Julian calendar, and 
though not perfectly accurate, was so nearly so that it contin- 
ned unchanged for sixteen centuries. In the year 1582, Pope 
Gregory Xm. made the slight alteration called the change 
from Old Style to New Style, which was adopted by Great 
Britain in the year 1762. By this change, called the Gregor- 
ian calendar, ten days were dropped after the fourth of Octo- 
ber, and what would have been the fifth was called the fift;eenth. 
It will now require three thousand years before the error will 
again amount to a single day. 

The honors now lavished upon Caesar were more than finil 
human nature could well bear. The senate declared him to be 
the " father of his coimtry," and voted that the title " Impera 
tor '' should be affixed to his name. The month in which he 
was bom, which had been called Quintilis, was now named, in 
iKMior of him, Julius, or July. A guard of senators, and of 
dtiaens of the equestrian rank was appointed for his prottHV 
lioii, and the whole senate, in a body, waited upon hun as a 
committee to communicate the decnrees which had been passed 



2M ITALT. 

in bis honor. Never was a mind more active in originatiBg 
and executing schemes of grandeur. He planned public buiki- 
:ngs for Rome, which were to surpass in splendor any which 
the world had before seen. He commenced the collection of 
imperial libraries ; undertook the vast enterprise of draining 
the Pontine marshes ; formed plans for supplying Rome with 
pure water by an aqueduct, and even began to cut a new pas- 
sage for the Tiber fi*om Rome to the sea, constructing a capa- 
ciouB artificial harbor at its mouth. He commenced opening a 
cai^ through the isthmus of Corinth, and making a royal 
road over the cliffs and ravines of the Apennines from the 
Tiber to the Adriatic. Rome was the idol of his adoration, 
and all his energies were concentrated upon the imdertaking 
of making Rome the capital of the world. 

Such energy and power could not but create both admi- 
ration and jealousy. As subsequently in France, against 
Napoleon, there were two parties hostile to Caesar, — ^the aris- 
tocracy over whom he had triumphed, and the lowest class of 
the democracy, the Jacobins, the Red Republicans, who could 
not brook a master. The intermediate class, however, com- 
posing the mass of the community, were enthusiastically in hiji 
favor, and were eager to confer power upon him beyond what 
he asked. His enemies began to accuse him of the desire to 
to make himself king in name, as he certainly already was in 
fact. The Romans had a great abhorrence of the kingly name. 
Execrating the pride and oppression of their former kings, 
they had indignantly expelled them from the throne, and now, 
for a period of more than five hundred years, their empire had 
assimied the forms of a republic. 

The enemies of CsBsar appealed to the following incidents as 
mdicative of his ambitious desires for royalty. In some of the 
galleries of Rome there were statues of kings of renown. 
Caesar caused, or allowed, his own statue to be placed among 
them. In the theater, he had a seat in the form of a throne, 
reared for himself, more conspicuous than all the rest, and 



THX TBIXrXPH OF O^BAB. Ml 

magmficoitlj adorned with drapery and gold. In the ienate 
chamber a simikr seat was prepared for hiuL On one oooasion, 
when the senate, in a body, waited upon him in the conference 
of some distinguished honor, he did not even rise irom his 
magnificent chair or throne, but received them sitting. At 
the celebration of one of his triumphs, an admirer, in his 
enthusiasm, placed a laurel crown, the emblem of royalty, upon 
the head of CsBsar's statue. For his audacity, the man was 
thrown into prison, but Ciesar inmiediately liberated him, say- 
ing proudly, that he wished to disavow sndh obiimB himself 
and not have others disavow them for him. He was at times 
greeted, in the applause of the streets, with the title of Hex, 
or king. Mildly he rejected the title, simply remarking, " I 
am CsBsar, not king." Marc Antony, on one of their festival 
days, approached CsBsar, who was sitting in imperial state, and 
placed a crown upon his brow. CaBsar immediately, but with- 
out words of reproach, laid it aside. Again Antony placed 
H upon his brow, and falling at his ftet implored him, in the 
name of the people, to accept it. Ciesar still persisted in the 
refusal of the gift, saying: **Take it away to the temple. 
There is no king in Rome but Jupiter." The vast crowd 
assembled applauded this act to the skies. The next morning, 
all the statues of CsBsar were crowned with diadems. In com- 
memoration of Cffisar's wonderful patriotism and self-denial in 
rejecting the crown, the following memorandum was inserted 
in the calendar for the year : 

^ On the day of the Lupercalia, M. Antony, the consul, by 
command of the people, offered the dignity of king to C. 
Caesar, perpetual dictator, and Csesar refused to accept it." 

Sdn it was affirmed, that these were but the preliminary 
Bteps by which Cffisar was preparing to ascend the throne. 

The horrible system of slavery of that day consigned to 
that degradation the most noble, wealthy, and illustrious 
fiunilies who chanced to be taken captives in war. Conbe- 
quently, the slave was often in lineage, political rank, and 

11 



S42 ITALY. 

intellectual dignity superior to his master. Caesar himself had 
been a slave, and his freedom had been purchased at a vast 
expense, by his friends. Many of the most renowned men of 
the times were slaves. CsBsar, the friend of the people, was 
strongly anti-slavery in his sympathies, and was disposed to 
reward merit, wherever he found it, in Roman citizen, freed 
man or slave. To the excessive annoyance of the aristocracy 
he intrusted the charge of the public mint to some of his own 
slaves, in whose integrity and ability he reposed confidence 
When he left Egypt, the command of three legions was in- 
trusted to the son of one of his freedmen. 

Cicero was quite disposed to be on friendly terms with 
Caesar, but he could never regain that confidence which he 
had lost by his notorious deficiency in moral courage. The 
abilities of the distinguished orator could make no atonement 
for his timidity and temporizing spirit. He was often found 
waiting in Caesar's ante-chambers; but, though always treated 
with respect, he was never received into the imperial councils. 
Cicero, in one of his letters to Atticus (Epist. liL), has given 
a very interesting account of a visit he received from Caesar, 
at his villa near Puteoli, in December, 46 b. c. Caesar having 
no son, was disposed to adopt C. Octavius, his sister's grand- 
child. On the twentieth of December, with a retinue of two 
thousand troops, as a guard of honor, he visited the father-in- 
law of Octavius, who resided in the vicinity of Caesar's villa. 
All the hours of the morning he spent earnestly engaged in 
business. He then took a walk on the ^ea shore, after which 
he went into a bath, amusing himself in the meantime in 
hearing read one of the most virulent Philippics agains 
himself. He then honored Cicero with a call, dining witl 
him, ii company with some of the most prominent of his 
attendants. " Caesar," writes Cicero, " seemed to enjoy him- 
self exceedingly, and was in very good spirits. The conversa- 
tion did not touch at aU on politics, but we talked much on 
Eterary subi'ects." 



THX TBIUKPH OF O^SAB. fM 

CSnsar'B oonstitational bravery rendered him insenaible to 
danger ; and he adopted no measures to guard against assas- 
fflnation. ^^My life,*' said he, **is more important to my coun- 
try than to myself. I have attained all which ambition could 
dfifiire; and I would rather die than make myself an oljeol of 
tamNT to the people.'' 



CHAPTER XIII, 

ASSASSINATION OF O^SAB 
Fbok 44 b. a to 42 b. a 

Vravus Ain> GABsnrs.— Ths Conbpibaot — ^Thb Sokns of A88AB8nrAnoir.--Ooni>iroT o« 

THK CONBPIRATORB.— IlffBiaNATION OF THB PbOPLK.— FlIOHT OF THB GONBPIBATOBS 
FBOM EOMB.--MBABirBBB OF MaRO AnTONT.— OAIUB OOTAVIUB. — InTEBVIIEW WXTH 

CiOBBO.— -Collision with Antony. — Balltino of thb Aristogratb.— Citii 
War.— False Position of Ootaviub.— Puilippiob of Ciobro. — ^Dbfbat of Antont. 
— Eboapb bbtond thb Alps. — Ootayiitb Casar^b^Maroh upon Bomb.— Tbiumphob 
THB Plbbbian Caubb.— Thb Natubb of thb Gonfuot. 

rPHERE was at this time in Rome a man of much distino- 
^ tion, both in rank and achievements, named Marcus Junius 
Brutus. He was a nephew of Cato, and had been a warm 
partisan of Pompey, fighting in his ranks at Pharsalia. In 
that disastrous battle he was taken prisoner, and receiving his 
life from the clemency of Caesar, entered into his service. 
The government of Cisalpine Gaul was conferred upon him, 
and he administered the affairs of the province, under the 
direction of Caesar, with so much wisdom and justice, not- 
withstanding many great blemishes in his personal character^ 
as to reflect much honor upon Caesar's government. The 
mother of Brutus, who was Cato's sister, is said to have been 
once the object of Caesar's most tender affection, and hence 
Caesar was disposed to confer upon Brutus, her son, every 
favor. Wantonly, Brutus had divorced his first wife Appia, 
and married Porcia, Cato's daughter, and his own cousin. 
This Brutus conceived the plan of striking a dagger into the 
heart of the benefactor who had spared his life, and who was 
still loading him with benefits. 

Caius Cassius was another of Pompey's generals, who 



▲ SBASSINATIOH OF C^SAB. t4A 

alter the battle of PharsaHa had Borrendered to Caesar, and had 
been generonsly received into his service. From a boy he had 
been remarkable for the impetnoeity of his character and the 
violence of his temper. Cicero says that, even at the moment 
of his surrender to Csesar, he intended to assassinate his 
benefSsu^tor, and would have done so had not an accident 
prevented. Csesar had constituted this treacherous man one 
of his lieutenants. Cassius was the intimate friend of Brutus, 
having married his sister. 

The conspiracy, for the assassination of Caesar, originated 
in the bosom of Cassius. He enlisted the cooperation of 
Brutus, and a large number of others were soon involved in 
the plot. Cassius, who was an earnest republican, probably 
hoped to introduce democratie sway. But Brutus, with strong 
patrician prejudices, hoped to bring the aristocracy again into 
power. The death of Caesar was essential to either of these 
plans. Not a word of extenuation can be offered in favor of 
Brutus and Cassius, both of whom had accepted honors and 
office from him whom they were conspiring to assassinate. 
The whole number of the conspirators is said to have 
amounted to sixty. Their first intention was, to strike Ciesar 
down when passing unguarded through the streets, or to 
inflict the blow, when presiding in the Campus Martins over 
the elections of magistrates. 

Ciesar, having issued an order for the senate to convene on 
the fifteenth of March, then called the Ides of March, and 
there being a rumor that on this day the title of king was to 
be conferred on him by his partisans in the senate, the con- 
spirators, many of whom were senators, fixed upon that occa 
sion as the hour for the accomplishment of their plan. Oi 
the evening of the fourteenth, Caesar supped with Lepidus, 
his master of horse. The conversation, at the table, was 
turned to the question, ** What kind of death is the most to 
be desired.'' Caesar, who was writing at the time, had his 
attention arrested by it, and exclaimed, looking up from Kis 



M6 ITALY. 

paper, " The most sudden death is the most deairable." It is 
said that he had received frequent warnings to beware of the 
Ides of March. Various incidents had so wrought upon the 
mind of his wife, exciting her alarm, that she passed the 
night preceding his assassination in feverish dreams, which 
so excited her imagination, that in the morning she entreated 
her husband not to leave the house that day. CaBsar himself 
was not well that morning, and, yielding to the fears of his 
wife Calpurnia, he remained at home until the senate was 
assembled. 

One of the conspirators, Decimus Brutus, apprehensive, 
from the delay, that Caesar had received some intimation of 
the plot, and might not attend the meeting of the senate, 
visited him and urged his attendance. At eleven o'clock in 
the morning, Caesar, accompanied by Decimus Brutus, and 
others of the conspirators, set out for the senate-house. On 
his way, a friend, whose suspicions had been aroused, ap- 
proached him, and placed in his hands a paper, contaming a 
written statement of his suspicions, which he begged him to 
read inunediately. Caesar, holding the paper in his hand, and 
pressed by the crowd, passed along, in conversation with his 
friends, mitil he entered the senate-house. Marc Antony, the 
devoted friend of Caesar, and his colleague in the consulship, 
was detained at the door by Trebonius, one of the conspirators, 
that he might not render Caesar any aid. Some of the con- 
spirators had wished that Antony should be slain also, but 
Jm Aus Brutus objected to it as needless. 

All the senators rose to greet Caesar when he entered the 
senatorial chamber. As he ascended t his magnificent chair 
of state, the conspirators contrived to gather around him as 
his inmiediate tram. The chair was placed near the pedestal 
of a statue of Pompey the Great, which Caesar had charao- 
teiistically permitted to remain as the chief ornament of the 
senate-chamber — a building which Pompey had reared It 
was observed that Cassius looked imploringly to that statue as 



▲ BBAB8IKATIOK OF CiBSAB. 94) 

if invoking the spirit of Pompey to aid him in his murderous 
deed. 

As C»8ar took his seat, surrounded by the conspirators, 
<me of them, L. Gimber, approached as if to offer him a peti- 
tion. Wb accomplices pressed near as if to support him in his 
request. Cimber suddenly seized Caesar by his robe. It was 
the signal for tne attack. Many daggers were instantly 
gleaming in the air, and Caesar was pierced by many wounds. 
The victim made frantic endeavors to brush his assailants 
away, and the confhsion was so great that many of the assas- 
nns were wounded by each other^s daggers. Csesar, seeing 
Brutus among his murderers, seemed to surrender himself to 
despair, as he exclaimed, *'And you too, Brutus!'^ Then, 
with dignity, covering his face vnth his mantle, he fell, 
pierced by twenty-three wounds. It seemed that each one 
of the conspirators vdshed to avoid striking the fatal blow, 
for of the twenty-three wounds he received, but one was 
mortal. 

The scene of consternation and coniusion in the senate can 
not be described, as that numerous and august body witnessed 
this murderous act. The deed was so rapid in its accom- 
plishment that there could be no rescue. Brutus, brandishing 
his dagger, dripping with blood, in the air, called upon Cicero, 
congratulating him that his country was delivered from a 
tyrant. The senate immediately dispersed in terror, the 
friends of CsBsar flying for their lives, expecting that they 
also were marked out for death. The conspirators, keeping 
in a body for mutual protection, repaired to the forum, where 
tuey addressed the crowd who gathered around them, and in 
earnest harangues endeavored to defend their deed. Pro- 
tected by a band of gladiators, they then went into the 
oapiU>I, where they took refuge for the night, accompanied 
and sustained by a number of the nobles. 

The dismay throughout all Rome was sudi, that the body 
of C»sar remsdned for several hours in the spot where it fell 



248 ITALY. 

At length three of his slaves placed the body on a litter and 
(tarried it to his home. They were so agitated that, as they 
bore the mutilated corpse through the streets, the arm of 
OsBsar, blood-stained, hung down, the hand at times sweeping 
the pavement j a piteous and revolting spectacle. 

The morning of the £ xteenth of March found Brutus and 
Cassins, with their accomplices, in the capitol, which was a 
citadel on the Capitoline hill. Many of the aristocratic party 
had joined them, with their sympathy or their congratulations, 
and among the rest was Cicero. The aristocracy expected 
the immediate restoration of the old regime, which had been 
crushed with Pompey at Pharsalia, which was to the ancient 
nobility of Rome what Waterloo was subsequently to the 
popular party in France. Dolabella, who had been in high 
authority under Caesar, seems to have hoped to place himself 
at the head of the radical democratic party — ^the mob — and 
sustained by them to grasp the supreme power. He imme- 
diately assumed the consular dignity, inveighed bitterly 
against his murdered bene&x^tor as a tyrant, and attempted 
to conciliate the assassins by visiting them in a Mendly way 
in their retreat. But Antony and Lepidus rallied the moro 
conservative masses of the people, who had ever regarded 
Caesar as their peculiar representative. 

The veteran soldiers of Caesar, many of whom were then 
in Rome ; most of the magistrates who had been appointed 
by Caesar; the foreigners who had been admitted to the 
rights of citizenship, and a large part of the industrial and 
and moneyed classes, were all disposed to support the govern- 
ment as organized by Caesar. Cicero, we regret to say, must 
be regarded as a participator in the crime of Caesar's assas- 
idnatiou; for he joined the murderers that very night, and 
counseled them as to the steps next to be pursued. The 
assassination of Caesar was regarded as securing the " resto- 
ration" of the Roman " Bourbons." 

Marc Antony and Lepidus, as soon as they had recovered 



▲BBASSIITATIOH OF OMBAR. 84t 

ftom their oonstematioi^ rallied the friends of Caasar, to wage 
determined warfiire against the refistablishment '^ of that ezoln« 
mye and msulting system which was upheld by the friends of 
the old aristocracy.''* It now seemed that the murder oouT ^ 
only mtrodnee a civil war, from which there could be no 
refuse but in another dictator. Cicero urged the leaders of 
the assassins, Cassius and Brutus, immediately to sunmion the 
s^iate, and grasp all the reins of government while the people 
were bewildered by the panic. Bat Marc Antony anti- 
cipated them, and, in his character of consul, l^^y convened 
the senate on the seventeenth of March. C»sar's veteran 
soldiers sprang to arms and surrounded the capitol where 
the conspirators were assembled, menacing them with death 
should they emerge from their retreat. Caesar's widow, Cal- 
pumia, placed, in the hands of Antony, Caesar's will. Its con- 
tents were immediately announced to the people,, and its 
generous provisions roused their enthusiasm to the highest 
pitch. 

By this will, Caius Octavius, then a young man of dghteen, 
was declared the heir of Caesar's property, and was adopted 
mto his fiunily to assume his name. Several of the conspira- 
tors were appointed his guardians while he should remain 
under age, so little did Caesar suspect their treachery. Ha 
bequeathed his beaudfrd gardens upon the Tiber to the Roman 
people ; and to every citizen a sum of money amounting to 
about twelve dollars. The vast population of Rome, roused 
by this remarkable proof of the attachment of their illustrious 
advocate, burned with the desire to avenge his death. All 
opposition to the good name of Caesar, was swept )way by the 
breath of their indignation. 

Hjb friends in the senate were animated by the public tide 
flowing so strongly in his favor. Thoy immediately voted him 
ihe most imp«>dng frmeral honors at the public expense. Maro 



* ThomaB Arnold. 
.1* 



360 tTAX.T 

Antony was appointee! to deliver his eulogy. AD ms aclmiiv< 
istrative acts were confirmed, his appointments to office were 
declared to be valid, and all the grants of land he had made 
were pronounced inviolable. The assassins were, however, so 
powerful in rank and influence, and the peril of civil war so 
great, and its issue so uncertain, and yet so indubitably pro- 
motive of national ruin and woe in its progress, that the two 
parties agreed to a truce, which was ef^ited by the advice 
and through the influence of Cicero. 

The conspirators ass^ited to the continued ascendency of 
the popular party, and that party decreed to consign to ever- 
lasting oblivion the crime of the Ides of March, and promised 
never to call any of the participators m it to account for their 
conduct. This adjustment was considered so satisfactory that 
we are informed, Brutus and Cassius on that same ev^iing, 
supped with Marc Antony and his friends. 

The funeral of OsBsar was conducted on a scale of magnifi- 
cence such as had, perhaps, never been witnessed before. The 
body was conveyed through the streets on a bier of ivory, 
decorated with scarlet and gold. At the head of the proces- 
sion was borne the dress in which CsBsar was assassinated. 
The funeral pile, upon which the body was to be consumed, 
was reared in the Campus Martins, and a model of the temple 
of Venus was constructed to hold the remains while the Amend 
oration was delivered. The oration of Antony was brief, but 
very effective. The decrees, with which the senate had award- 
ed to Caesar extraordinary honors and powers in requital for 
his extraordinary services, were publicly read, and also the 
oath which the senate, including the assassins, had taken to 
defend his person. The few words which Antony added, so 
vividly recalled the brilliant achievements of CsBsar and his 
devotion to the popular cause, that the ardor of the people in 
&vor of Csesar, and their indignation against the awttWWPH, 
was roused beyond all bounds. 

A clamor arose as to the place where the body should be 



ASSA88IKATIOH OF O^SAB. S6a 

burned, aD being anxious to name the most honorable locality 
in the oi^. Some named the s^iate-honse, others the temple 
of Jupiter. In the midst of the confusion, two of the veteran 
soldiers of Cfosar stepped forward and set fire to the bier upon 
which the body lay enwrapped in thick and gorgeous drapery. 
An un]>araneled scene of enthusiam then ensued. The ladies 
rushed forward and threw upon the flames their scarfs and 
mantles. The soldiers crowded to the bier and cast upon the 
pile their javelins and war dubs. The populace broke into 
the neighboring houses and temples, smashed chairs, tables, 
altars, and heaped the fragments upon the pyre. Dense vol- 
umes of smoke arose as from a volcano, and the crackling of 
the flames drowned the murmurs of the multitude. 

The passions of the populace were now roused, and notr 
withstanding the decree of amnesty passed by the senate, they 
demanded vengeance upon the murderers of Caesar. Earth 
has never heard a sound more appalling than the roar of an 
infuriate mob sweeping the streets. With the rush of the tor- 
nado the frenzied masses, raising cries which sent terror to all 
hearts, assailed the dwellings of Brutus and Cassius, but the 
senate had adopted the precaution of placing troops in defense 
of these dwellings, and the unarmed mob were repelled. 
Turning away they encountered an innocent man, whom they 
mistook for Cinna, one of the enemies of Caesar. His doom 
was sealed. As well might one appeal to the reason of fam- 
ished wolves, as to the passions of an infuriated mob. They 
fell upon the innocent, helpless stranger, beat him to the 
ground with their clubs, cut off his head, and paraded it 
through the streets on a pike. 

For many days these tumults continued. The populace 
erected to the memory of their benefactor a marble statue, in 
the forum, twenty feet high, and upon it inscribed the words, 
** To the Father of his Country." An altar was reared by the 
side of this statue, on which, for a long time, sacrifices were 
offered to Caesar as if he were a god. Every day tumultuoun 



152 ITAI.Y. 

groaps assembled around this eolamn, until at length, by the 
strong arm of the law, these acts of violence were quelled. 

A man by the name of Amatius, who was to Rome what 
Marat was subsequently to Paris, placed himself at the head 
of the mob, and formed a conspiracy for the assassination of 
all the principal senators of the aristocratical party. But 
Antony, the consul, was by no means disposed to tolerate the 
reign of the mob. Amatii^e was arrested, tried, condemned, 
executed, and his body was ignominiously dragged by a hook 
through the streets of Rome, and thrown into the Tiber. 
Still the hearts of the people burned to avenge the murder of 
Caesar. There was an instinct of justice which declared that 
such a crime must not go unpunished. These indications so 
alarmed the conspirators and rendered their residence in Rome 
so uncomfortable, that they deemed it expedient to retire, for 
a tune, from the city. 

They all left Rome, some seeking refage in their coun- 
try-seats, and others in distant provinces. Marc Antony 
was thus enabled gradually to assume dictatorial power. 
Having Caesar's will in his possession, and being regarded by 
the people as his successor and the representative of his polit- 
ical views, he had but to announce a decree as recommended 
in Caesar's will, to secure its immediate enforcement. Cicero 
says that Antony forged grants to states and individuals, 
which he pretended to have found among the papers of Caesar, 
and which he sold to such advantage, that he raised in less 
tXian a fortnight, a sum of money exceeding a million and a 
half of dollars. He took a tour of the neighboring states, 
and bound to his service by oath Caesar's veteran generals. 

The young Octavius was at this time in Apollonia, in 
orreece, pursuing his studies. He had long been regarded as 
Caesar's probable heir, and had consequently received very 
flatt«^nng attentions. As soon as the tidings reached Apol« 
Ionia, Oi the assassination of Caesar, the military officers in the 
vioimty crowded around him, and ur^ed him to avenge the 



AftSASBIlf ATIOV OW C ^ 8 ▲ B. 

innrd^ of his nude, aseiaring him cf the oo5peratioD of all 
the troops under their coiiunaiid. Octayiiis, not knoviiig the 
strength of the foes he mi^t have to eocoiinter, deoned it 
eicpedient to move with caution, and ocMiseqnently hastened 
privatdy to Rome. He did not ascertain the particulars of tha 
assassination until he reached Bmndosiom ; where he wra also 
loformed that he was declared Csesar^s heir and his adopted son. 

Octayius inunecBately assumed the name of Caesar ; and, as 
he advanced from Brundusium to Rome, his partisans rallied, 
from all quarters, around him. On his way he stopped at 
Puteoli to visit his fitther and mother. Cicero's villa was at 
this place, and Octavius, anxious to secure the support of the 
iDustriotts orator called to see him. Cicero received him with 
great politeness, but studiously refrained from calling him 
Coesar. Octavius hastened to the capital, and at once sought 
an interview with Antony. But Antony, now in the height 
of his power, as the executor of Caesar's will, was not at all 
disposed to resign the scepter to Octavius. Indignant at the 
repulse he encountered from Antony, who had very artfrdly 
ingratiated himself into the popular favor and felt secure of the 
people's support, he turned to the aristocratic party, seeking 
to court their &vor in the strife against Antony, in which it 
was evident that he must now engage. 

Indeed, the aristocratic party was at this time gaining 
grouna. Dedmus Brutus, one of tiie assassins, had been 
appointed by Caesar, in his unsuspecting confidence, to the 
command of Cisalpine Gaul. He was now there, rapidly 
organizing an army; and by the plunder of neighboring 
tribes, he was obtaining wealtii, which he lavished upon his 
■oldiers, to secure their supp rt. Sextus, the yomigest son of 
Pompey, whom we have beforv. mentimed as hr.ving secured an 
unmolested ^etreat among the fkstnesses of the Pyrenees, was 
gathering the fragments of the old aristocratical party in 
Spain, that with these forces he might join Decimus Brutus. 

Junius Brutus and Cassius, exiles from Rome through fear 



804 ITALY. 

of popular violence, were secretly plotting with the memben 
of the aristocratic party to cooperate with the generals in 
Gaul and Spain to reestablish patrician ascendency. In Asia, 
in Syria, and in Galatia movements were already on foot for 
the ac*.complishment of this end. It was the old struggle 
between the outs and the ins, Antony and Dolabella, Cicero's 
son-in-law, were now at the head of affairs at Rome. A 
meeting of the senate was convened in June. Cicero says 
that Antony stationed soldiers along all the avenues leading 
to the forum, who prevented any senators from attending the 
meeting but those who would act in accordance with his 
wishes. Three laws were passed which were very popular^ 
The aristocracy condemned these laws severely, and said that 
they were enacted merely to court favor with the mob. By 
one of these laws the lands belonging to the national domain 
were to be distributed to settlers. Another decree admitted 
even plebeians, who had attained the rank of centurions, to be 
eligible to the judicial power — a law exceedingly offensive to 
the nobles, but which modern civilization will certainly com- 
mend. " The third and worst" measure, in the judgment of 
aristocratic privilege, was a decree which allowed men, con- 
demned for any state offense, to appeal to the people. 

By the verdict of republicanism, these decrees would all 
probably be pronounced salutary measures of reform. The 
patricians made such endeavors to embarrass the execution 
of these laws, that Antony entered the senate escorted by an 
armed lorce, that he might repel any violence which should 
be attempted. Antony was now all powerful in the senate 
and in Rome, and the conspirators did not dare to leave their 
retirement and show themselves in the capital. Brutus and 
Cassius were untiring in their plots to regain that power for 
which they had imbrued their hands in the blood of assassina- 
tion. They were preparing to leave Italy and to rally around 
them provincial armies, with which they hoped to maroh 
triumphantly upon Roma. 




n.** «.*.*-* ATrry /F r^-fkH, 



lijcR ±innfr" if»'iifc-«-4!»t ii '^vrjp'i m^ » it- .uu-^i wu if" 
rr*sBTc -wTtt iifr sniir^-nirrfcy'i: ^aciilaiHiU* »ifr n .-•/ok 
v^in. jimi. 'Hr'iKSw ^i:iuri liit ii-;. !« & .'vt>iiaii7 
ms^iKt tut aau* if -siJtffL '^"i^itf «f:ar^ *V2r«ii ji :ai» 

tut ^iiuur -•lUi'Tixfr J^&ssr^ iLm«.>G inuO«Mr«iM*. ^ca* 
■UL vnuflBEcrnciur ^I'Vir'^Ai iniiiuflftM^ i£ juirovr^ 

fliC iw aw i-xm^ -n -tat jHUiLiui ia •.'C ^^ liiii W7^*utt ?wimk 
Wtt -tnif iviHws at -ruv tat r^ptfin^i ^^ ^lw«ixtf«. wti**r^ llii 
amvec «B -SBC- ■ siiT ' : ■^ strfc «c Aiurmc. Oiw g^ ^mwUf ^di^ 

1W- "a» umsEmrtt f^ Air. it t^ vc^iBMaKM a** wwl^ 

m read v^ xkit fmseit i&j vit2i &iaira&.^tt. bcs v^imi k 
to cai4r tae f€iLU« to deHrer. Tbe siNiMft va 
BTt tfokm. Ckjero meal k at fint to hk frioMl 
vick t£«e eiraeit i=.;zxiioa that lie sbocjd not ki 
it be aacB br aor <,: tM fiiends of Aa^onj. This Tigat di^ 
eonnged C^eeru, and be retired a^axo, the vcak, ci<3 
■nhnlMlj iHB, tm tba abrwbberr aod flowers of hie 




f M ITALY* 

Cowper himself was hardly less adapted for the storms of 
state than was Oicero. And yet Cicero was ever consumed 
by the desire of grasping that scepter of power, which, by his 
nature, he was utterly incapable of wielding. It is not difficult 
to find such men in modern times. 

We hear much in our degenerate days, so called, of Roman 
virtue. Unfortunately, authentic history seems to be but a 
record of Roman vice. One of the first acts of Octavius 
CsBsar, after his arrival in Rome, was to hire some assassins to 
murder Antony. The plot was discovered. Antony, who had 
at one time been engaged in a similar endeavor to assassinate 
CsBsar, knowing how easy it was in Rome to hire any number 
of daggers, was greatly alarmed. The indications of Octavius* 
popularity were such that he did not dare to bring him to 
trial. He became even afraid to trust the strong body guard 
with which he had surrounded himself. He accordingly left 
Rome and went to Brundnsium, that he might, by flattery and 
bribes, devote to his interests four legions which were quar- 
tered there. He addressed the troops vrith all his powers of 
persuasion, and offered to each man a gratuity amounting to 
about fifteen dollars. To his surprise and mortification, the 
troops, accustomed to the largesses of Caesar, ridiculed the 
meanness of the ^ft. 

Alarmed and indignant at these indications of revolt, An- 
tony summoned several officers whom he suspected of being 
ringleaders in the disaffection, and caused them instantly to be 
put to death. Receiving tidings from Rome that his enemies 
were making headway there he hastily returned. Octavius 
Caesar was more successful with some legions in the vicinity 
of the imf^rial city. Through his fiiends and the vast wealth 
which Caesar had bequeathed him, he was enabled to present 
to every man of these legions a sum amounting to eighty 
dollars. He commenced collecting his troops at Capua, and 
wrote to Cicero urging him to advocate his cause in the 
senate. The illustrious orator, deeming the prospects of Ooti^ 



▲ 8BA88IKATIOK OF O^BAB. M9 

fioB encouraging, after much hesitation, and casting longing 
eyes toward Brutns and Cassius, who were now far away 
beyond the Ionian golf, ventured to accept the proffered hand 
of OotaviuB. 

The young adventurer, under the auspices of Cicero, visited 
Rome, and addressed the assembled citizens in the forum. 
But he had a difficult task to perform, as he wished to recon* 
eOe in his favor the two antagonistic elements of aristocratic 
privilege and popular ri«j^ht8. But the spint of Julius Csasar 
was in his heart, and it broke out in his words. And when, in 
the fervor of his address, he pointed to the statue and swore, 
by the inmiortal gods, that he would emulate his uncle's spirit, 
and strive to attain his uncle^s greatness, the people applauded 
him to the skies, while the nobles turned away in disgust and 
indignation. CsBsar, though dead, still ruled in Rome. 

In the meantime Antony was marching upon Rome with 
some troops who remained faithfhl to him. Octavius, not aUe 
then to resist him, retired. Antony issued a proclamation de- 
nouncing him as a traitor, and threatening with the severest 
punishments all who should, in any way, abet his cause. But 
every day, tidings were reaching Antony that his l^ons were 
m revolt, and were giving in their adhesion to Ootavius. He, 
in his alarm, retired to Gaul, taking command of that distant 
province, hoping there to reestablish his power ; but his fears 
of Octavius were so great that he traversed Italy by cross 
roads, lest he should be intercepted by his formidable foe. 
Dedmus Brutus was then in command of Gaul, and he resolv- 
ed not to surrender his office. Antony thus found himself 
immediately arrayed against hostile troops. Dolabella, the 
colleague of Antony in the consulship, was now in Syria ; o<hi- 
eequently Rome was left without the presence of either of the 
oonsuls. 

The purity of Cicero's private character gave him much 
influence, notwithstanding the boundless corruption of those 
limeB. The worst of men could appreciate the nobleness of 



258 ITALY. 

what is called good morals. The pendulum of Cicero's mind 
Qow vibrated again to the cause of the aristocracy, and, as 
Brutus had sent a proclamation to Rome, declaring both his 
determination and his ability to defend Gaul against Marc 
Antony, Cicero hastened to the metropolis, and in a full meet- 
ing of the senate pronounced his renowned oration, entitled 
the Third Philippic. This oration, in its eloquence and its cau- 
tion, is characteristic of the author. He proposed a vote of 
thanks to Brutus, the illustrious advocate of aristocracy, for 
the firm stand he was making against Antony ; and, at the 
same time, called for an expression of gratitude to Octavius, 
the representative of the plebeian cause, for his hostility to 
Antony. 

The indications were very decisive that Antony was 
ruined ; but whether the party of Brutus, or that of Octa- 
vius would rise upon those ruins, was not settled. Cicero wai 
prudently prepared for either. The opening of the new year 
introduced two new consuls, Hirtius and Pansa. Cicero grew 
more bold, and proposed in the senate, that Antony should be 
declared a public enemy, and that the people should be sum- 
moned to rise en masse to crush him. The proposition of 
Cicero was adopted, with the exception that a deputation 
should first be sent to Antony with the demand, that he should 
throw down his arms and submit himself to the senate and 
people. The sun of Octavius Caesar was now manifestly 
rising. The senate admitted him to its membership with 
high rank, and erected an equestrian statue in his honor. 

The delegation sent to Antony was composed of Sulpicius, 
a renowned lawyer, and one of Caesar's most devoted fiiends, 
of Piso, the father of Caesar's wife, and of Philippus, the 
husband of Caesar's niece, and stepfather of Octavius. One 
of the consuls, Hirtius, also took the field, with a well pro- 
vided army, against Antony. The courage and decision of 
Cicero now waxed rapidly. Antony rejected the terms pro- 
posed by the senate, but returned some propositions of hii 



ASSASSINATION OF CiBBAB. S69 

own, which he offered in the way of compromise, but which 
m their torn were peremptorily cast aside, and Antony was 
declared to be a rebel. This was a great gain for Octavina 
Caesar. The embroilment of parties was^ however, now 
such, that the people were embarrassed to know which was 
the popular, and which the aristocratic side. 

Junius Brutus, then in Greece, with consummate sagacity 
and administrative skill roused the enthusiasm of Pompey's 
veteran soldiers, and assembled beneath the banners of the 
old aristocratic party, seven legions, with a well-supplied 
treasury, and all the needful munitions of war. Dolabella* 
then in Greece, discomfited and defeated, fled to Syria, and 
sought a cowardly refuge from life's woes, in suicide. 

Cassius in Syria, was as triumphant as Brutus in Greece, 
and it now became apparent that the civil war would be one 
of no ordinary magnitude ; and, fi*om the chaos of parties, 
there began to emerge again the two distinct arrays of the 
advocates of patrician supremacy on the one hand, and of 
plebeian equality of rights on the other. Cicero, whose 
sympathies were invariably with the patricians, proposed 
in the senate, 

"That the senate highly approve of the conduct of 
Brutus and confirm him in the government of the armies 
he has raised and the provinces he has acquired ; and that 
they request him to hold himself in readiness to lend his 
assistance to the commonwealth, when necessary." 

By the commonwealth^ was meant the old aristocratic 
regime of Pompey. Cicero was now rushing headlong into 
the embraces of the aristocracy, and, in his zeal, which was 
tempered with but very little discretion, he urged a resolution 
equally laudatory of the conduct of Cassius, the other lead« 
mg ass3i8sin of CsBsar, and which conferred upon him also 
almost absolute control over the fleets, armies, and revenues 
of the East. This inordinate proposal alarmed the people^ 
and ndsed a great outcry against Cicero. Antony availed 



MO iTAi:.T. 

himself of tins Bentiment, in the endeavor to raDy arofimd 
hin\ the undivided energies of the popular party. He wrote 
a letter to Octavius, urging upon him the impolicy of com- 
mitting himself to the old Pompeian policy, a policy which 
was in deadly hostility to all the principles of Caesar's gov- 
ernmcnt, and, though it might deceive the people for a time, 
could never secure their cordial support. 

This letter was intercepted aod placed in the hands of 
Cicero, and he read it to the assembled senate. The progress 
of the war in Italy, or rather in that portion of Italy then 
called Cisalpine Gaul, had placed Octavius as commander-in- 
chief of those forces which were fighting the battles of the 
assassins of his uncle, an eminently false position for him to 
occupy. Antony had been defeated in a sanguinary battle at 
Mutina, now Modena, and was on the rapid retreat, pursued 
by Decimus Brutus and Octavius, yet hoping to find refage 
beyond the maritime Alps. As, in confused retreat, he 
pressed along his way, his ranks were continually swelled by 
the slaves, and the lowest portion of the people who flocked 
to his standards. When the tidings reached Rome that the 
army of Antony was defeated, and in wild conflision was 
rushing through the fastnesses of the Alps, the exultation 
was very great with the aristocratic party then in the asc^i- 
dency there. Congratulations, thanks, and ovations were 
voted to Brutus and Octavius, and it was reaffirmed that 
Antony and all his followers were public enemies. 

Octavius seems to have been conscious of his fiJse posi- 
tion, and that through the force of circumstances he had 
become the tool of a party who execrated the principles of 
his uncle, and who were the unrelenting foes of that popular 
political equality, through which alone he could hope for 
permanent ascendency. He therefore manifested but little 
seal in the pursuit of the fiigitives ; and Antony soon rallied 
his ibrces between Genoa and Nice, and was joined by sueh 
rednforo^ments, a^ enabled him again to assume Ihe aap^ 



A8RA88INATION OF OiBSAB. S61 

rf one prepared to cope with his foes. Cicero, now avowedly 
the warm friend and partisan of the aristocracy, was, by hia 
eomraanding influence, at the head of the government of 
Rome, directing all its measures. He was watchful to re- 
ward with honors and to strengthen with office, those upon 
whom he could rely as supporters of the patrician cause. 

Murmurs loud and deep were now heard in the army of 
Ootavius, respecting the unequal distribution of purse ^nd 
place in favor of the enemies of the people. Octavius, every 
hour, became more and more warmly in sympathy with his 
troops, and decided to turn hia attention from the prose- 
cution of a provincial war in which he was but harming his 
own cause, to the endeavor to secure his election as consul at 
Rome. This would place the scepter of power in his hand 
which he could wield effectually for the fiirtherance of his 
high ambition. He accordingly sent a deputation of his friends 
to Rome, to suggest his name and to labor for his election. 
These men engaged in their enterprise of securing the con- 
sulship for their commander, Octavius, with the spirit of 
successfiil soldiers, who felt conscious that they were backed 
by a powei-fiil army. It is said that the centurion who 
headed this delegation, when he presented the name of Octa- 
vius to the senate, insolently pointed to the hOt of his sword 
and said : 

" If you refuse our request, this shall grant it." 
Octavius Caesar, now, in imitation of hia uncle Julius 
CfBsar, wheeled around his columns and conmienced a march 
toward Rome. He was at the head of an army flushed with 
victory, and devoted to his service, and who knew that if the 
scepter of power was placed in their commander's hands he 
would wield that scepter for their benefit. By a singular 
ooincidence, he marched along the same road from Cisalpine 
Gaul, which his uncle had traversed. The revolution of the 
wheel which crushed the patricians and elevated the plebeians, 
was almost instantaneous. Octavius encountered no impedi- 



162 ITALY. 

ments in his march ; no mnrmnrs even seem to have been 
raised. He advanced to the gates of the capital and en- 
camped his troops in the Campus Martius, uttering no other 
menace than the presence of such an army silently indicated. 
He was everywhere recognized as the Nephew of his XJnde, 
and that armed him with ahnost invincible power. 

Almost without opposition he was elected consul, and the 
plebeian's heel fell crushing upon the patrician's head. We 
should have more sympathy for the patricians in their down- 
&11, had they not enjoyed long ages of ascendency, during 
which the plebeians had writhed beneath the tramplings of 
patrician feet. This oblivion of the ties of brotherhood — this 
attempt of one class of men to live at the expense of another — 
this irrepressible conflict, in which the patrician has endeavored 
to crowd his brother plebeian into the dust, has been through 
aU ages the fruitful source of human woe. And this conflict 
will continue bitterly to the end, until the ties of fraternity 
shall be recognized, and until the principle of our own declar- 
ation of independence is enthroned in all hearts — that all men 
are created equal, and are entitled to life, hberty, and the 
pursuit of happiness. 

Octavius Caesar commenced his consular reign vigorously. 
He first expunged the decree that Antony and his friends 
were public enemies. He then sent a wave of terror to the 
remotest bounds of the Roman empire, by a law which 
enacted that all implicated in the assassination of Csesar, 
wherever they could be found, should be arrested and 
brought to triaL M. Agrippa appeared as the accuser of the 
conspirators, whose names were well known. As they did 
not appear to respond to the charge, they were all convicted 
of treason, and doomed to perpetual exile from Rome, by a 
bill of attainder, which in the usual style prohibited them 
the use of fire and watei, within a certain distance from the 
metropolia. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

OOTA.VIUS CJESASL 
Fbom 42 b. a to 82 b. a 

F«n or DBoniim Brutus.— Massaorsb ik Bomb.— Deato or Ciavbo.— AxwnMynii— 
Tbs Tkiumtisati.— Was ik Macbdonia.— Bum or Tm Patkioian CAUSB..-4in- 

OIDK or CaWIUS AMD BbUTUS.— T&IUXPU OP THB TriUMVIBATB.— OPPBBSSION OV 
TBB PbOPLB and DuCOimCNT I7< KOMB. — PROPL.IQA0T OP OOTATIUB CjESAR.— DOWH- 

rALL or LBpmPB.— Dbubilla.— DiTOBOB or AntomtIb Wipb.— Antomt and Clbo- 

PATBA.— WaB BRTWBBIT OoTAVIUB AND AjfTONT. — MuSTBBINQ Or THB FoBOK.— 

AirroNT AND HIS Bbidal Pabamoub. 

TVECIMUS BRUTUS, abandoned by his soldiers who de- 
-^ serted in battalions to Antony, attempted to escape to 
Greece, in the disguise of a Gaul. But he was arrested, and, 
at the command of Antony, beheaded. Though the assas- 
sin of CsBsar deserved no better fate, there was no virtue in 
Antony, which authorized him to be executor of such ven- 
geance. Octavius, now invested with the consular dignity, and 
at the head of a victorious army, opened a friendly corre« 
spondence with Antony and Lepidus, in which they agreed to 
bury all past differences, and to cooperate in the furtherance 
of the common cause. Antony had reconducted his troops 
back to Mutina, and the three chieftains held an interview on 
one of the numerous marshy islands, which then existed be- 
een the Apennines and the Po. They constituted them- 
es a triumvirate to administer the affairs of the empire, 
supported by their united armies ; they divided among them- 
■elves the powers within their grasp, and made arrangements 
for the punishment of their adversaries. The three returned 
to Rome, followed by their troops, and, without difficulty, 
■ecured the appointment of the triumvirate by the legal 



S64 ITALY. 

tribunals. A list of the proscribed was then made out and 
published, with a proclamation which said : 

" Whikt we are hastening to attack our enemies abroad, 
we can not with safety leave so many other enemies behind us 
in Rome ; nor can we delay to take precautions against oar 
domestic foes, lest the dangers with which we are threatened 
from abroad, become too formidable to be overcome." 

Rome was appalled at the appearance of the names of one 
hundred and thirty senators, with a Btill larger number of the 
equestrian order, on these proscription lis*«. AH persons were 
warned, by the severest penalties, against harboring the pro- 
scribed in any way, while rewards were offered to any one 
whc would bring their heads to the triumvirs; and it was 
also stated that there should be no record kept of the payment 
of this money, that no stain might be left on the memory of 
those who should receive it. In nothing, perhaps, is the awfiil 
corruption of those times more conspicuous, than in the 
eagerness with which sons sought the promised reward by 
betraying their fathers to death. 

The name of Marcus Tullius Cicero was, of course, found 
on this proscription list. Cicero, apprehensive of danger, had 
fled from Rome, and in disguise was hastening to the coast, 
that he might embark for Macedonia, where he could sedc 
shelter beneath the power of Junius Brutus and Cassius. He 
obtained a vessel, and even commenced his voyage. But a 
storm so delayed his progress, and caused him to suffer so 
ouch from sea-sickness, that he returned to the Italian coast, 
and, with unwonted heroism, said, "I will die in that country 
which I have so often saved.** 

Cicero had now attained his sixty-third year. Quietty 
he returned to his villa, at Formiae. His slaves, devotedly 
attached to their master, saw some soldiers approaching, and 
knowing ftiU well their object, almost forced him into a litter 
that they might convey him to the shore and place him on 
board a ship. Hie soldiers overtook them while still on 



OOTAVIUB CJB0AB. S65 

CSoero's grotmdfl. He commanded the slaves to make do 
resistance, but to set down the litter. Calmly he stretched 
his head ont, with his neck bare, to be dissevered by the 
sword. The deed was immediately performed, and the gory 
head remained in the bands of his murderers. They also cut 
off his hands, saying that they were the instruments with 
which he had written his Philippics, and they carried both 
head and hands, and exposed them at the rostra where Cicero 
had uttered strains of eloquence which still vibrate through 
the world. Rome crowded to witness the shameful spectacle, 
and both plebeian and patrician wept over his cruel fate. 
Whatever judgment may be pronounced upon the weakness 
of Cicero, he was, beyond all question, one of the purest and 
l>est of the men of those dark and dissolute days. 

It is urged in defense of Cicero's apparent timidity and 
vacillation, that he regarded with equal disapprobation the 
selfish and unprincipled members of both factions — the aris- 
tocratic and the democratic. Neither party, it is said, was 
worthy of the support of any intelligent and honest patriot. 
There was, however, this undeniable difference: the patricians 
were struggling to deprive the plebeians of an equal share in 
political privileges ; while the plebeians were contending for 
equal rights for all. In this conflict, which seems to have 
agitated the world for countless ages, there is not much room 
for doubt where the sympathies of an honest man should be. 
Still every historian feels disposed to deal tenderly with the 
reputation of Rome's most distinguished philosopher and 
orator. The intellectual world owes him a debt of gratitude, 
which should fall as a mantle to vail his frailties. 

The annals of those days were filled with records of the 
tragical deaths of some, and the wonderful escapes of others, 
of the proscribed. Many of these anecdotes aid one very 
much in obtaining a conception of the state of society at that 
time. Vetulio, one of the proscribed, assumed the rank and 
state of a pretor, a Roman magistrate of very high statir/n, al 

IS 



Ml ITALY. 

tne head of the judiciary. He disguised his slaYAs as Iictors, 
officers in retinue, who bore the insignia of power before men 
of illostrioas political position. Charioted in splendor, he thus 
commenced a journey from Rome to Naples. Travelers whom 
he met moved aside, overawed, from his way. The doors of 
inns were eagerly thrown open. Carriages and horses were 
impressed as by goyemmental power. At the sea shore, in 
the name of the government, he seized vessels for himself and 
his attendants, and effected his escape to Sicily, where he 
threw himself under the protection of Sextus Pompey, then 
in power there. 

Antius Restio, another of the proscribed, escaped from his 
house by night. His slaves, elated at their master's doom, 
conmienced pillaging his property. One alone followed his 
master; and strange to relate, that one had been cruelly 
branded in the face by hi 3 master, and had been loaded with 
chains, from which his insurgent fellqw-servants had releaseo 
him. This slave, with a spirit of forgiveness which Chris- 
tianity itself might envy, followed' his master, concealed him 
by the way-side, constructed a ftmeral pile, and then, with 
inhumanity of which even paganism should be ashamed, mur- 
dered an innocent traveler who was passing by, and placed 
him upon the pile. While thus employed the soldiers came 
up. He informed them that he had slain his master, and was 
preparing to bum his body, and pointed to his branded cheek 
and his limbs galled by the chains, as an excuse for the re- 
venge thus satiated. The unsuspecting soldiers cut off th« 
head of the murdered man, and received for it the proffered 
reward. Suspicion being thus lulled, the slave succeeded in 
conveying his master safe to Sicily. It is difficult to exag- 
gerate the horrors attending the execution of these proscrip- 
tions. They found but a counterpart during the reign of 
terror in France. In the one case as in the other, all these 
woes were consequent upon the strife between aristocratic 
Bsurpation and popular equality. The reoognition of man's 



OCTATITTS CJBSAB. 907 

fraternitj; the ftdoptioii of merit as the passpiirt to offioe, 
without regard to tiie diBtinctions of rank, would have saved 
Rome all this expenditare of blood and misery. 

All the machinery of confiscations, forced loans, and bur* 
densome taxes was called into requisition to aid the triumvirs 
in prosecuting the civil war in which they were now engaged. 
The soldiers, consdous of their power, rioted in robberies and 
plunderings, and were guilty of e\ery atrocity which human 
passion could incite. Bands of slaves, liberated by the flight 
or death of their masters, and with no badge of color to 
indicate their servile condition, assumed the disguise of sol- 
diers, and sought the redress of theur past wrongs by the 
sorest vengeance. It seems that the triumvirs did what they 
could to repress these disorders. Were the leaders of the 
popular party ever so patriotic and unseHish, the only choice 
before them was to submit to the haughtiness and the out- 
rages of patrician supremacy, or to fight the battles of popular 
rights with every weapon they could grasp. This disposition 
of those in power not to respect, but to trample upon the 
rights of those beneath them, is utterly infamous, and through 
an past tune has deluged the world in crime and woe. The 
only alternative for the slave, is patiently to bow his neck to 
the yoke and his back to the stripe, or to assert his manhood 
through the dreads energies of conflagration and blood. 

ilSiaiXidonia and Sicily were still under the sway of the 
patridan party, and many of the aristocracy from all parti 
of Italy, flocked to the banners which were there unfiirled 
Sextus Pompey, with a fleet and an army, had taken posses 
8(on of the island of Sicily, and there, safe firom unmiHiiate 
assault, had established his head-quarters. He dispatched his 
ships to cruise along the coast of Italy, to ^icourage the 
fiiends of patrician sway to permst in opposition to the estab> 
fished government, and to receive on board any who either 
fought protection or wished to join his camp. 

Though the trinr^.virs at Rome were in the undisputed 



f68 ITALY. 

poBcession of power, the old forms of government were re> 
tained, the offices h&ng filled by men in favor of plebeian 
rights. By the nsaal forms of election, Lepidns and Plancns 
were chosen consols. Lepidns remained at Rome to admin- 
ister, with his colleague, the home government. Antony and 
Octavins Csesar prepared for an expedition to the East, to 
attack Bmtns and Cassios, who were rallying the forces of 
rebellion there. Notwithstanding the most earnest entreaties 
of Cicero, that Bmtos wonld hasten to Rome to aid the nobles 
with his army within the walls of the capital, Brutos, more 
sagacious than Cicero with regard to the strength of the 
plebeian cause, declining this appeal, crossed over to Asia, 
and effected a junction with Cassius at Smyrna. 

Octavius and Antony speedily dispatched an army, under 
able generals, across the Adriatic to Macedonia, and took 
possession of that rich and powerful province. Traversing 
the whole kingdom unopposed, from the Adriatic to the 
^gean sea, a distance of nearly three hundred miles, Saza 
and Norbanus, in command of this force, established them- 
selves in a very formidable position, on the great plain of 
Strymon, near Philippi, at the opening of some mountain 
defiles, through which they supposed that Brutus and Cassius 
must necessarily pass, should they attempt to return from 
Asia and regain Macedonia. 

The patrician generals were soon on the march with a 
force vastly superior to that of their plebeian foes. A 
Thracian chief guided them, through forests and swaqtps, by 
miirequented paths, across the mountains, and suddenly their 
trumpet blasts were heard and their banners gleamed in the 
rear of the intrenchments of Saxa and Norbanus. The patri- 
dans threrw up formidable intrenchments, and having a vast 
superiority of land forces, and with their fleet in entire com- 
mand of all the neighboring seas, they hoped soon to starve 
their foes into submission without risking a battle. Octavius 
and Antony, hearing of the peril of the army, hastered to its 



OCTATIV9 OiBSAB. t69 

aid urith large reenforoements, from BranduBinm ; and, not 
withstanding the most energetic endeavors of Sextus Pompey 
to cut them off with his fleets they effected a landing in Mace^ 
donia, and soon joined their friends at Philippi. 

The material forces now, on either side, were nearly eqnal ; 
but the moral forces were so unequal as to render the victory 
of the Triumvirs almost oertaau. The soldiers of Brutus and 
Oassius were fighting for thmr masters ; the soldiers of Octa- 
▼ius were fighting, as they bdieved, for themselves, their own 
ri^ts, their own political equality with the wealthy and the 
high-bom. Aiter a few days of cautious maneuvering the 
ohiffge was sounded, and horseman and footman rushed into 
thebatde. 

Cassius led the left wing of the patrician anny, Brutus the 
Tight. Tiie field was soon so enveloped in dust, that neither 
victors nor vanquished could tell what was transpiring around 
them. Antony rushed upon Cassius, trampled down his 
cohorts, and sweeping every thing before him, broke through 
the intrenchments, and seized the camp of his foe. The 
unhappy assassin of Geesar, accompanied by an officer and a 
single freedman, fled to a neighboring lull, and inunediately 
dispatched one of his staff to ascertain the fiite of the division 
led by Brutus. 

Anxiously, from the hill-side, he watched his progress. In 
the extreme distance he soon saw him meet a body of cavalry, 
and a fiiint shout reached his ear. The horsemen, with his 
messenger in their midst, now commenced a rapid advance 
toward the spot where he stood. Cassius, inferring that his 
officer was a prisoner, and that his captors were approaching 
but to cut him down, yielded himself to the folly and the 
cowardice of suicide. Presenting his sword to his freedman 
he ordei-ed him to plunge it into his heart. The order was 
obeyed, and Cassius fell dead to the ground. A moment after, 
the cavalry came galloping up the hill to announce to Cassius 
that Brutus had been signally successftil, and to call upon him 



990 ITALY. 

to rally hk broken bands in the rear of the Tictorions ranki. 
Had CassiiiB lived, the whole issue of the campaign mi^tp 
perhaps, have been changed. 

Brutns was thus deserted to struggle alone against the tide 
of adverse fortune. Though he had maintained his ground 
and repelled the assaults of the enemy, there was but little in 
prospect to encourage him. His soldiers had fought through 
the influence of military discipline, and not inspired by good- 
will. Desertions began to thin his ranks. Octaviua, though 
but partially victorious, was elated by the result of the battle^ 
and all his troops were eager for another fight. Brutus, con- 
scious that he was growing weaker by every hour's ^elay, 
gathered such reinforcements as he could speedily conunand, 
and again led out his legions in order*of battle. 

Octavius was ready for the strife. Fiercely for a few hours 
the battle raged, and then the patrician troops began to give 
ground. First they slowly retired, then rapidly retreated, 
then fled, a rabble rout, in utter confhsion and dismay. Brutus, 
cut ofl* from his flying troops, escaped to a ravine in the moun- 
tains, gloomy with overhan^g cliffii and forests. Several of 
his Mends accompanied him in utter despair. The sun had 
now set, and the gloom of night enveloped them. Brutus sat 
down upon a rock, and, for a moment, gazed in silence from 
the glen through the foliage and the clifb to the stars beam- 
ing brightly. Sadly he conversed with his friends, in such 
strains as would naturally &11 from the lips of a reflective man 
whose whole earthly interests were wrecked, and who had no 
confidence in immortality. The Christian can look beyond 
time's narrow horizon for the redress of all wrongs, but Bru- 
tus, in death, could see nothing but a leap in the dark. 

*' Oh unhappy virtue I " said he, '^ I have worshiped thee 
as a real good ; but thou art a vain, empty name, and the 
dave of fortune." 

Again he quoted a verse from the Medea of Euripides: 
''O Jupiter, fijrgac not to pimiah the author of all this i 



OOTATinS OJISAB. t7l 

Thus the mdancholy hours of the night wore away. A 
friend was dispatched to see if he oonld asoertain any tidings 
from the camp. But he did not retam, and Bnitus rightly 
inferred that he had perished by the hands of the enemy. 
The morning was beginning to dawn, when their retreat 
would no longer be safe. 

^' It is time for us to go hence,'* some one said. 

"Yes,** Bmtos replied; "we must indeed go benoe; 
but it must be with our hands and not with our feet." 

He also had decided upon suicide. Shaking hands with 
an his Mends, in a final adieu, and thanking them for their 
fidthfnl adherence to his cause, he said : 

" I weep for my country, but not for myself. I am hap- 
pier than my conquerors; for I shall leave behind me a 
name, which no success or power can confer upon them.** 

Then, to save his Mends the anguish of witnessing his 
death, with two attendants, he retired for a short distance out 
of their sight. To one of them he gave his sword, and, 
placing his heart against the glittering point, he threw him- 
self upon it with such force that he instantly fell dead to the 
ground. Thus perished Brutus — the noble assassin, the 
heroic self-murderer, in whose character were singularly 
Uended far more of the virtues than of the vices of pagan- 
ism. Brutus died at the early age of forty-three. 

The leaders of the aristocratic party were now nearly all 
destroyed; and the power of the triumvirs was effectually 
established. But the soldiers were to be rewarded, and theii 
expectations were high. The military chest was empty, and 
could only be replenished by confiscation and plunder. Antony 
was accordingly sent to Asia to reorganize that country, and 
to raise contributions, by those extortions with which all 
Roman generals, of every party, were so familiar. Octavius 
returned to Italy to superintend the impt^rtant matters de> 
(Handing attention there. 

Octavius, sufiTering severely from ill health, commenced 



S72 ITAI.T. 

slowly his joamey t4i lv<»ne. Bat tlie triompli of tlie pie* 
betans h^d hy no meuis secnred the liberties of the people. 
They soon found that tixe n^dty of a victorious Bxmj conld 
be as oppressive as the extortions of a ridi nobility. Hie 
people were despoiled of their property and their lands, thst 
these gifts might be lavished upon the troops. This caused 
so much exasperation that there were £"equent and bloody 
conflicts between the soldiers and the citizens ; honses were 
plundered and destroyed, and anarchy, even in the city of 
Rome, became bo great, that the shops were closed and the 
magistrates resigned their offices in deapmr. 

Lucius Antony, a brother of Marc, raised the banner of 
revolt against this merciless spoliation. The people rushed, 
eagerly to his atandards. Patrician and plebeian alike com- 
bined for mutual protection against the extortion of a rapa- 
cious BokiJery. Octavius himself would gladly have repressed 
these disorders, but he was indebted to his soldiers for his 
anpremacy, and a quarrel with them would leave him entirely 
powerless. The army was conscious that its leader nmst obey 
its behests, and, unscrupoloosly and unopposed, they rioted in 
violence and oppresraon. 

But Octavius soon had cause for alarm, in aedng that a 
tmly national party, composed of men of all parties, was 
rapidly foiming around Lucius Antony. Octavius had pro- 
fessed to be the leader of the democracy, but now the 
democracy Itself was organizing against him. Undisciplined 
citizens, however, could make but a feeble stand against the 
vet^an legions of Octavius. L. Antony was soon over* 
whehned. But anxious still to court popular favor, and to 
retain the position of a friend of the people, Octavius par* 
doned the plebeians engaged in the revolt, and wreaked his 
vengeance on tjie patricians alone. Lucius Antony, in de&r« 
enoe to Marc, the colleague of Octavius in the triumvirate, 
was pardoned, but nearly all the citizens of distinction, who 
were taken captive, were remorselessly put to death. Threa 



OOTATinS OJiSAB. 27S 

jmndred of the pngonera, most of them of the highest rank, 
were sacrifioed, on the Ides of March, on an altar erected in 
honor of Jnliua Cssar. The dty of Penesia, where the 
insurgents had made a stand, was plmidered, and then burnt 
to the ground, and the magistrates were all put to death. 
OctaviuB Caesar was then but twenty-three years of age. 

From the defeat of the army of Lucius Antony, and from 
the executions which ensued, a young man, of the highest 
patrician rank, and whose family subsequently became re- 
nowned in history, escaped to Sicily. His name was Tiberius 
Claudius Nero. His ¥rife, DrusUla, soon after was married to 
Octavius CfBsar, and his little son, then but two years old, in 
half a century from that time, as Tiberius Csssar, became 
emperor of Rome. Such is history, and such is life. The 
impoverished fugitiye to-day, is the monarch to-morrow — ^and 
the monarch throws aside his diadem to perish, an exile in 
distant lands. 

This brief contest, thus terminated, rendered all further 
opposition to Octavius hopeless. The whole power of the 
empire was now in the hands of a mercenary standing army, 
and that army dominated its chief Sextus Pompey was still 
in power in Sidly, at the head of a numerous and well- 
disciplined army, and his fleet was in supremacy so entire, 
that nearly all the ports of Italy were blockaded by it, and 
even Rome itself was thus reduced to great distress. Some 
considerable jealousy had now sprung up between Octavius 
and Maro Antony, as to which should be the greater. The one 
was CsBsar's nephew — ^the other his oldest assodate, and his 
&vorite general. Octavius, very wisely, was disposed to com- 
promise, that he might avert the threatened breach of friend* 
ship. Fulvia, the wife of M. Antony, having recently died, 
Octavius gave him his sister Octavia in marriage, and agreed 
that all the provinces of the Roipan empire, eastward of 
the Ionian gulf, should be under the exclusive dominion of 
Antony, while Octavius Csesar should be supreme over the 

12* 



SM ' ITAtT. 

region west of that lina Lepidos was to be left midistnrbed 
in the possession of Africa. The Irinmvirs then, after some 
correspondence with Sextus Pompey, held an interview with 
him at Misenam, on the coast of Campania, and concluded a 
treaty, by which they surrendered to him the islands of Sicily, 
Sardinia, Corsica, and the province of Achaia; They also 
paid him a smn amounting to about three millions of dollans 
in compensation for his father's confiscated estates. Thus the 
Roman empire was divided into four parts. 

It is pleasant to record that in this treaty the humane 
regulation was introduced, that there should be a general 
amnesty for all political offenses, and that the proscribed, who 
had fled from Italy, should be allowed to return in safety, and 
recover a fourth part of their confiscated estates. But the 
leviathan of human depravity is not easily tamed. War was 
soon renewed ; and the shouts of the infuriated combatants 
pierced the skies, while conflagration and blood desolated the 
land. The Parthians, from the eastern shores of the Caspian, 
had marched upon Syria; and, after many fierce battles, all 
Sjrria and Palestine, with the exception of Tyre alone, fell 
into the hands of the invaders. The foe then ravaged Cilida, 
and like demon legions penetrated Asia Minor. Antony 
raised an army in Greece for the recovery of his provinces, 
and again the horrid billows of war rolled over the land, 
weaving in their train pestilence, famine, and misery. But 
the Parthians were driven out, and the woe-scathed people 
had Antony for their plunderer instead of Pacorus, the son 
of the Parthian king. 

DifiSculties soon arose between Octavius and Pompey, 
each accusing the other of not being faithful to the terms of 
the treaty. Some affirm that Octavius was the aggressor, 
and that he had assented to peace, only that he might recruit 
his energies to renew thQ war, and acquire for himself univer- 
sal empire. Others assert that Pompey, hungering and thirst* 
ing to regain the ascendency, throughout the Roman emjKre^ 



OOTATItrs OiBBAB. 978 

of the old aristocratic party, of which his father was the 
iUnstrioas representative, was responsible for the outbreak 
of hostilities. The question can not weU be decided. Even 
to the present day, opinions will be expressed according to the 
reader's proclivities toward the patrician or plebeian side of 
this question. Neither Octavius nor Pompey were scrupulous 
as to the means employed for the attainment of their ends, 
and there can be no question, that they both were equally 
eager to gain, for the parties which they represented, undis- 
puted dominion. 

The war between aristocracy and democracy is ever waged 
fiercely. Octavius wrote immediately to Antony to cooperate 
with him. But Antony was then fully occupied with the 
Parthian war, and it is supposed that, jealous of the power 
of Octavius, he was perfectly wiUing that he should be weak- 
ened in the strife with Pompey. But for the- entreaties of his 
wife, Octavia, the sister of Octavius, it is said that he would 
even have united his fortunes with those of Pompey. Octa- 
vius, baffled in hia first attempts to effect a landing in Sicily, 
appealed again to Antony. The two illustrious sovereigns 
met at Tarentum, by thcL* sole authority renewed the trium- 
virate for five years more, and Antony, who was just setting 
out on a military expedition to Parthia, intrusted his fleet of 
three hundred ships to Octavius, and also his wife and child, 
to reside in Rome during his absence. 

At the same time Octavius, in harmony with the utter 
demoralization of the times, married his third wife, Livia 
Drnsilla, whom he wrested from her husband, Tiberius Nero. 
Drusilla, at the time of her marriage, was on the eve of again 
becoming a mother. To this scandalous union Octavius was 
driven by mere sensual passion. Octavius first married Clodia, 
the daughter-in-law of Antony. He soon repudiated her, and 
married Scribonia, the sister of the wife of Sextus Pompey. 
Both of these unions were formed for political purposes 
merely. Octavius charged Scribonia with being as profligate 



f^a ITALY. 

M he^ was himself. This charge, however, was not made 
until, incited hy a passion for Drusilla, he had resolve 1 to 
divorce Scribonia. This divorce was effected on the very day 
in which Scribonia became the moUier of a daughter. At this 
tune Ootavius was but twenty-five years of age. 

A vast amount of money was needed for the prosecution 
of the war against Pompey, and Italy again groaned beneath 
the burden of taxation. Bvery man of wealth was required 
to furnish a certain number of slaves to provide the ships 
with rowers. In the spring of the year 36 b. c, Octavius had 
assembled an overwhelming foroe on the coast of Campania. 
The fleets were sheltered in the lakes Lnorinus and Avemus. 
Lepidus had sent to his aid a powerftd army from Africa. 
The army effected a landing on the island of Sicily, and Pom« 
pey, utterly defeated both by land and sea, abandoned the 
contest as hopeless, and escaped to Peloponnesus. 

Octavius, flushed with victory, assumed an air of authority 
and of superiority which roused Lepidus. A conflict imme- 
diately ensued, which was short, bloodless, and decisive. The 
soldiers preferred to have for thdr commander one who was 
sovereign at Rome, rather than a governor of the r^note 
province of Africa. In a body they passed over to the camp 
of Octavius. The ruin of Lepidus was so entire, and so utter 
his helplessness, that in the garb of a suppliant he repaired to 
the tent of Octavius, threw himself at his feet, and besou^t 
his mercy. There was no occasion for severity upon so pow* 
wless a foe. Octavius spared his life, and allowed him to 
retire wherever he pleased, with his private property. Some 
of the nobles had rushed to the camp of Lepidus, hoping to 
take advantage of the quarrel for their own reinstatement. 
AL of these, with but few exceptions, were mercUessly put to 
death. 

Ila^nng secui^ed the enthusiastic devotion of his troops by 
immerse giils of money and lands, Octavius now r^umed to 
Italy The army was in hia hands, a pliant weapon with 



OCTATI1T8 OiBBAB. ttl 

wliioli lie oonld bid defiance to the world. By BQch inflaencea 
does one man get a ocmtrol, which compels millions of men to 
bow to his sway. A peoploi jealous of liberty, should goard, 
above all things else, against the organization of a great 
military power, onless, as is unhappily the case in many of 
the fetates of Europe, this great military power is absolutely 
essential to guard against the encroachments of menacii^ 
foes. 

The ccmqueror was received in Italy as nndisputed sov* 
ereign. Antony, far away upon the jiains of Asia, was 
forgotten m Rome. The senate voted, that Octavius Caesar 
should be received with that triumph called an ovation ; that 
an annual thanksgiving should be i^pointed in commemora- 
tion of his victory; and that his statue, decorated with trium- 
phal robes, should be erected in the forum. He addressed the 
senate in speeches contaiiung a full exposition of his political 
views. The sentiments he advanced wore, generally, eminently 
just, and calculated to promote the public weaL He promised 
to do all in his power to grant peace to the empire ; all the 
unpaid taxes, for the support of the war, were remitted ; he 
proposed vigorous measures to prevent ^e extortion which 
had been practiced by the public officers, and established an 
efficient city police* 

But these judidous measures were sullied by one of unpar- 
donable atrocity, if, through the somewhat obscure recital of 
those times, we are correctly informed respecting its nature. 
In the treaty with Pompey, amnesty was promised for all 
political offenses. A large number of slaves, who had served 
under Pompey, were now scattered throughout the empire. 
These men were ordered to be arrested, and returned to thdr 
former masters, if they could be found. If their masters 
eould not be found, they were mercOessly to be put to death. 
It would seem that there must be some mistake in this recital, 
the act seems so unreasonable. But historic fidelity renders it 
fy that it should not be passed over in silence. 



tf8 - ITALY. 

Sextos Pompey arrived safely in the Peloponnesus, and 
sailed thence with a few followers to Asia to seek Maro 
Antony, hoping to form an alliance with him against Octaviua 
Gsesar. He first stopped at the island of Lesbos, where hia 
father found his wife and child on his retreat from the fatal 
field of Pharsalia. He was received by the inhabitants so 
kindly, that his hopes were quite revived. A number of his 
partisans, who had been widely dispersed, here joined him ; 
and a great number of others plundered and wretched, who 
had nothing to lose, and nothing to fear, as no change could 
be for the worst, offered him thdr services. For food, cloth- 
ing and a chance for plunder, they were willing to go an> 
where, and serve any body. 

Antony sent a force of disciplined troops under M. Titias 
to oppose him, and the rabble of adventurers gathered beneath 
the banners of Pompey were speedily slain or dispersed ; and 
Pompey himself was taken prisoner and cruefly slain. The 
death of this illustrious son, of a stiU more illustrious eare^ 
was celebrated by Octavius in Rome with indecent rejoicings. 

Octavius and Antony were now dividing the world be- 
tween them. They were both men of too much ambition to 
brook a superior ; and Antony, as sovereign of the east, was 
by no means disposed to yield the palm to Octavius, monarch 
of the west, though Rome, which had claimed to be the 
mistress of the world, was his capital. Every month the 
indications of an approaching quarrel became more dear. 
Complaints and recriminations passed from one to the other, 
until war was openly and madly declared. 

Antony was, at this time, in Leucopolis, a dty of Asia 
Minor, in effeminate, guilty, and unblushing dalliance with 
Cleopatra, the beautifrd, voluptuous, and wanton queen of 
Egypt. "With wonderftd seductive charms of person and of 
mind, she had obtained the entire ascendency over Antony, so 
that he was perfectly her slave. Octavius sent his sister Ootfti 
Tia to her fiuthless husband, expecting that his treatment ol 



OOTATIVB OiBBAB. flYf 

her would be such as to magnify bis anpopnlarity lu luSy^ unA 
rouse the people to that yigorons prosecution of the wai 
whioh personal animosity would insjHre. Antony^ in obedi- 
ence to the requirements of Cleopatra, his paramour, who 
languished, sighed, and wept, and played off all the pretty 
artifices of coquetry, not only sent Octavia back to Romei 
refusing to see her, but followed this outrage with a btll of 
repudiation and diToroement, cuttingly copied rerbatim from 
the divorce which Octavius had infiunously inflicted upon 
Clodia, the dangfater-in4aw of Antony. Sodi was Roman 
▼irtue. 

Antony now resolved publicly to make his queenly para- 
mour his wife. To Cleopatra it was a matter of no earthly 
moment, save as she might enjoy the pomp and pageantry of 
the nuptials. Hiere were no ties which she respected ; and 
governed solely by her passions, and possessed of regal wealth 
and power, she played the wanton at her pleasure. The city 
ef Alexandria, her capital, was sdeeted as the spot for the 
espousals. In the public theater two thrones of gold were 
erected. Antony sat upon one in the dress so appropriate to 
his character of the god Bacchus. Cleopatra sat upon the 
other by his side, representing the Egyptian goddess Iris. 
Cleopatra had then several children. One was the son of 
Julius Csesar. Two were recognized by Antony as his own. 
On this occasion Antony conferred upon his bride, as a 
present, vast provinces over which he held sway. 

While the agents of Antony were collecting an army in 
Greece for the decisive strife with Octavius, he repaired with 
Cleopatra to Samos, an island of the Archipelago, to supeiin- 
tend his measures. His conduct here was such as must needs 
consign his name to utter contempt. His camp was crowded 
with armed men from all the countries of the East, blended 
hi ridiculous confusion with comedians, dancing girls, and 
buffoons. From Samos, Antony and his wedded paramour 
proceeded to Athens, in Greece. But while they were thus 



980 ITALTf 

wasting their hours in foUy which exposed them to tmrrersd 
derision, Octavius was mustering all his energies for the strife. 
Still Antony, through the combined energies of Egypt and 
the whole western empire, had assembled an enormous force, 
consisting of one hundred thousand foot, twelve thousand 
horse, and five hundred ships of war. Octavius had mustered 
an army of eighty thousand foot, twelve thousand horse, and 
two hundred and fifty ships. His ships, however, were better 
built and more efficiently manned than those of his antagonist. 
With such forces these two imperial men prepared to contend 
for the mastery of the world. But Octavius -was in the prime 
of youth, and inflamed with a yet unsated ambition. Antony 
had ab-eady passed the meridian of his days, for many years 
he had tasted both the bitter and the sweets of power, and 
1.0W he was surrendering himself to voluptuous indulgence, 
and to all the enervating influences of a sensual and shameful 
love. A lascivious woman was the ignoble idol of his adora- 
tion; and for one who worships at that shrine, final destmelioai 
bmre. 



CHAPTER XV. 

C^BAB AUQUSTUS AND MARO AHTOHT. 

From 32 b. a to 10 & a 

MuTBM OF AaBm.— Fuenr of Ci;BOFATRA.~EaTiBB ViofOET or OoTATm.— Tn 

PmtaxriT to Alsxandjua.— Suioids or Antont.— Oitils or Gi.sopatka. — Hu 
BirvKATOsa to Wnc OoTATitm^— >Di8paib akd Sincnnc or GLaoPATBA.— TKiinim- 
AMT Bcrnuf or Ootatiub to Boms.— Hn Wnc ICBABmiB.— Thb Tttlb or An«ireTim 
OoNFiBSKD. — Statk or THS BoMAK Empibb, Italt, Oaitl, Bbitaiiv, Spaxx, ArBIOA, 
8TBIA, Abia Minob, Qbsbqb.— Tbb DBMLAnom or Civil Wab. 

fVN the coast of the Grecian province of Epirus, there is a 
^ noble sheet of water, twenty-five miles in extreme length, 
and from three to ten miles in breadth, now called the gulf of 
Arta, but then known as the Ambracian gulf. Within thii 
bay Antony had assembled his fleet, and, in a formidable posi- 
tion, had drawn them up in line of battle. Cleopatra, in alli- 
ance, had contributed sixty Egyptian galleys to the armament. 
Octavius entered the bay, with his fleet, prepared for the 
decisive encounter. The two armies were upon the opposite 
shores, where they could not reach each other or take any 
part in the battle, but in situations in which the whole scene 
was open before them, and where they could animate the 
combatants by gestures and shouts. 

The hostile ships approached each other, to grapple side to 
side and to engage in a hand to hand struggle, with all the 
fury human passion could inspire. Octavius and Antony, in 
person, were in command of their several fleets. Cleopatra 
also, in person, assumed the command of her own sixty 
Egyptian galleys. The voluptuous queen sat canopied id 
her imperial barge, ridiouloosly surrounded by her maids of 
honor. 



t82 ITALY. 

The morning of the second of September, 31 b. c^ dawned 

dear and cloudless upon the bay, which was coYered and sor- 
Bounded with all the pomp and pageantry of war. Tha 
banners of the opposing lemons, and the gleam of polished 
helmet and cuirass, sword and javelin, glittered in the sun's 
rays, while twenty-four thousand horsemen rode to and fro, 
impatient to participate in a fight, which, however, they could 
only witness as a spectacle. Such a gladiatorial scene on 
such an arena, stands unrivaled in this world's history. In 
beautiM order and in a long line the two fleets, driven by the 
arms of the rowers, approached each other. Each ship was 
in itself a fort, containing its garrison of fighting men ; and 
the business of the rowers was simply to lay them alongside 
of each other, that the trained soldiers, hand to hand, with 
0word, javelin and battle-ax, might decide the firay. It was 
Rome agiunst Rome ; Antony against Octavius. 

For a long time the horrid butchery continued. The 
clangor of the battle, as steel met steel, and rang upon coats of 
mail ; the cries and shouts of onset and of death ; the huzzas 
of the legions upon the shore ; the cloud of missiles which 
almost darkened the air ; the flash of fire-balls and the smoke 
and flame of the conflagration, all combined to present a scene 
which Trafalgar or Aboukir could hardly have surpassed. 
Cleopatra was struck with a sudden panic, as she saw several 
of the mammoth quinqueremes of Octavius pierce Antony's 
center, hurling destruction on all sides. Fearing that her 
detachment, thus cut off*, was doomed to destruction, she gave 
the signal for retreat. This created a general panic, and, in 
a few moments, the whole fleet of Antony was in a state of 
utter rout, the oarsmen straining every nerve to escape as 
they could, pursued by the exultant galleys of Octavius, hurl- 
ing destruction upon the fugitives. 

Antony joined Cleopatra in her own ship, but at first waa 
fo angry with her for her cowardice, so fatal to his cause, that 
for three days hf refused to speak to her, he remaming at the 



OiBBAB AUOfTBTUB AlTD IIABO ANTOKT 288 

prow of the ship, with his attendants, and she, with her maids 
of honor, being at the stem. Bat love triumphed; and sooi^ 
enclosed in each others arms, they approached the coast of 
Africa. The army of Antony, thus abandoned by its leader, 
and cut off from retreat, either by sea or by land, by vastly 
OTerpowering forces, surrendered to Ootavius. 

Antony was so transported with mortification and rage, 
that he resolved to resort to suicide, which seems to have been 
the Roman remedy for all great misfortunes. With much 
difficulty he was dissuaded from the cowardly act, and return- 
ed to Alexandria with Cleopatra. 

The queen of Egypt was apprehensive that Ootavius, hav* 
ing subjugated all Greece, Asia Minor, and Syria, would urge 
his conquering legions even to Egypt, and, conscious of her 
inability to repel him even from her own capital of Alexan- 
dria, she adopted the desperate resolve of transporting her 
fleet across the isthmus of Suez, to the Red sea, and embark- 
ing there with her army, to seek a new realm which she would 
oonquer for herself from distant and unknown barbarians. 
She accordingly, without mercy, robbed her helpless subjects, 
oonfiscating estates and pillaging the shrines of the gods and 
the magaanes of the opulent, until she obtained riches suffi- 
dent for the enterprise. But the difficulty of transporting a 
fleet over a sandy waste, eighty miles in width, was found to 
t>e insurmountable, and Cleopatra was compelled to remain in 
Egypt and abide her doom She had succeeded in transport* 
ii^ a few of her ships across the isthmus, but the Arabs 
■sized and burnt them. 

Antony and Cleopatra now combined to place Egypc m the 
best possible state of defense ; for though they had no hope of 
hemg able to repel their proud conqueror, it was probaUe that 
such formidable preparations would influence Octavius to 
grant them more &vorabIe terms. Indeed, Cleopatra, whose 
love for Antony was merely ambition, and the pride of exer- 
aaag her own powers of fiiscination, resolved to sacrifice 



284 ITALT. 

Antony for a higher ambition, and to offer her person, with all 
her seductiye charms, as a bribe to win the favor of Octavius. 
She ah-eady had thrown herself into the arms of Julius Caasai 
and of Antony, and both with eagerness had accepted the gift. 
Would not Octavius be equally impassioned ? But Cleopatra 
fcrgot that the charms of gu-lhood had vanished. Thirty-nine 
years of voluptuousness had left their traces upon brow, and 
cheek, and form. 

Several embassies were sent by Antony and Cleopatra to 
Octavius ; but with each, Cleopatra treacherously sent a secret 
messenger with propositions of her own. Octavius did not 
condescend to pay any attention to any of these combined 
messages, but strode onward with his legions. He, however, 
opened secret conmiunications with Cleopatra, and with that 
perfidy which was so often displayed by the most illustrious 
men of that day, offered to treat Cleopatra with distinguished 
favor, if she would expel Antony fcom. her kingdom, or put 
him to death. History declares, with all her manifold vices, 
that outside of Christianity, true virtue has rarely been found. 

At length Antony discovered this secret correspondence 
which was passing between Octavius and Cleopatra. But 
Antony was powerless. He had neither fleet nor army, and 
his proud mistress had but to utter the word and he was ban- 
ished, 'mpriboned, or executed. The unhappy man, inflamed 
with jealousy and rage, and conscious of. utter impotence, was 
almost fi-antic. But the days were passing, the armies of 
Octavius drawing nearer, and the doom of Antony and Cleo- 
patra was soon to be decided. 

Octavius reached Pelusium, at the mouth of the most 
eastern branch of the Nile, about one hundred and fifty 
miles from Alexandria. The governor of the city, probably 
at the suggestion of Cleopatra, surrendered without the 
slightest attempt at defense. There was no^ no obstacle 
whatever in the way of the march of Octavius to Alexandria. 
But Antony resolved not to perish without a struggle. Cleo- 



OiBBAB AUOUSTirS AKD IIABO ANTOKT. 28( 

patra had again acquired her accustomed dominion over him, 
and had beguiled him into the belief that she was attached to 
his fortunes. As the advance guard of Octavius approached 
the city, Antony, at the head of a picked body of troops, 
sallied from the gates, and for a moment resuming his long 
lost energies, repulsed the division with considerable slaugh. 
ter. Elated with this trivial victory, he returned to the city, 
and in a sort of miniature triumph — ^the last flicker of the 
dying flame of his fortune— presented to Cleopatra a soldier 
who had distinguished himself in the fight. The queen, in 
continuation of her duplicity, magnificently rewarded him 
with a helmet and breast-plate of gold. But that very night 
the soldier, with his glittermg reward, deserted to the ranks 
of Octavius. 

The next day the whole army of Octavius approached, 
both by sea and by land. His galleys, almost covering the 
sea, impelled by vigorous oarsmen and crowded with war- 
riors, entered the harbor. His infantry and his cavalry, 
marching beneath those eagles which the genius of Julius 
Caesar had immortalized, and which ever seemed to lead to 
victory, invested the city by land. But Antony had aroused 
the energies of despair. He had collected a large fleet and 
army, had made all his arrangements for a conflict which he 
knew full well must prove decisive, and, with a throbbing 
heart, he took his stand upon an eminence which commanded 
alike the bay and the shore, that he might watch and guide 
the fight. 

His galleys, in beautiM order, advanced to meet the foe ; 
and just as Antony expected to hear the trumpets peal the 
charge, and to witness the commencement of the murderous 
fray, to his amazement and consternation he saw the fleet of 
Octavius opening to admit his galleys; the two fleets exchanged 
friendly salutes, and with blending banners and triumphant 
music, returned to the harbor. 

Bewildered and woe-stricken, the unfortunate chieftais 



B86 ITALY 

tamed his eyes to the land. The same Bocne was opened to 
him there. His cayahyy with sheathed swords and waving 
banners, galloped into the lines of Octavins, where they were 
received with plaudits which almost shook the temples of 
Alexandria. The infantry thus abandoned and with no re- 
treat be£[>re them, threw down their arms in despair. The 
duplidty of Cleopatra had been successful, and Antony, be- 
trayed, was ruined beyond all hope of redemption. In a 
state of ungoyemable fury he returned to the city, clamor- 
ously invdghmg against the perfidy of Cleopatra, and appa- 
r^itly resolved, in his frenzy, to plunge a poniard into her 
heart and then into his own. 

But Cleopatra, anticipating this violence, was prepared to 
evad() it. She had erected a strong citadel, in which she had 
that morning taken reftige, under the protection of an efficient 
guard, and it was not in Antony's power to approach hen 
Still continuing her duplicity while concealed in this retreat, 
she caused word to be sent to Antony that, in despair, in view 
of the defection of her troops, and of the utter ruin which 
awaited both her and Antony, she had reused longer to live, 
and had committed suicide. 

The tale, so plausible, again deceived the deluded old man, 
whose energies of mind as well as of body, voluptuous indul- 
gence had enfeebled. All his former passion for Cleopatra 
returned with the violence of a flood. Bitterly he condemned 
himself for his unjust suspicions. 

" Miserable man that I am," he cried, " what is there now 
worth my living for. All that could render life attractive to 
me is gone. O, Cleopatra ! thou hast taught me the way, and 
the only way, to escape the misery which is now my lot." 

Calling a faiths attendant to his side, a man named Eros, 
who had been his slave, but whom he had freed, Antony 
placed a pomard in his hand and ordered him to plunge it 
into his heart. The devoted man, who had promised to per* 
^orm this deed for his former master, should fortune drive 



ojiAAB AiroirsTirs aitd habo antokt. 987 

Um to tbis^ last resource, took the dagger, and plun^^ it 
into his own bosom fell dead at the fet . of Antony. For a 
moment the Roman chieftain hong in admiration over the 
corpse of his faithful attendant; then seizing the blood- 
stained weapon, he thrust it into his own body, inflicting a &ta* 
wound, but one which did not cause immediate death. 

Writhing in anguish and deluged in blood, and yet with- 
out sufficient fortitude to repeat the blow, he entreated his 
fiiends to put an end to his life. With fiight and horror they 
recoiled from the deed. In the meantime Cleopatra had heard 
that Antony had stabbed himself and was dying. The scene 
in Alexandria, at that hour, no imagination conceive. A hos- 
tile fleet was entering the harbor, Roman legions, with shouts 
of victory were crowding in at the gates. Antony was dying. 
Rumors of every kind filled the streets with regard to Cleo- 
patra. The vast population of the city surged to and fro, in 
the wildest turmoil and dismay. 

Cleopatra did not dare leave her retreat. But she sent 
one of secretaries with a body of men to bring Antony to her 
presence. He was taken upon a litter, and carried through 
the tumultuous streets to the dtadel. But even then the 
queen was afraid to allow the gates to be opened, and cords 
were let down from a window by which the litter, containing 
the body of the dying man, was drawn up to her apartment. 
Antony, pallid, faint, and bathed in blood, gazed feebly upon 
Cleopatra, and endeavored to reach forth his arms as if to 
embrace her. The queen, either with love revived by the 
sight, or continuing the dissimulation which had ever been so 
prominent in her character, wept and bemoaned bitterly. She 
tore her hair, beat her breast, and frantically kissed the pale 
lipfl of the dying man, calling him her husband, her lord. 
her emperor. 

* Moderate your grief," exclaimed Antony, " and still live, 
if you car do so with honor. As for me, weep not over my 
misfortunes, but congratulate me upon the happiness which I 



f88 ITALY. 

have ei^oyed. I have Kved the greatest and tl e most poww* 
fid of men. Though I now fall, my death is not inglorious, I 
am a Roman, and hy a Roman only have I been vanquished.'' 

He bad but just uttered these words when he fell back in 
his litter, and the spirit of the Roman warrior departed to 
God who gave it. 

One of the generals of Octavius, named Proculeius, now 
approached the citadel with propositions for Cleopatra. She, 
however, justly fearful of treachery, refused to admit him; 
but, aided by his soldiers, he effected an entrance by means of 
a ladder, at the window through which Antony had been 
drawn. Cleopatra, alarmed at finding herself a prisons, 
drew a poniard and attempted to stab herself, but Proculeiitf 
snatched the dagger from her hand. She was then conveyed, 
with the respect to which her rank entitled her, to the palace 
where Octavius had established his head-quarters, but waa 
guarded with the utmost circumspection. 

Octavius, now undisputed master of the world, was dream- 
ing of the splendid triumph which awaited him in Rome ; 
and the presence of Cleopatra, the renowned queen of Egypt, 
to lead in the train of the captives, would be one of the 
most conspicuous ornaments of the triumph. Conscious of 
the degradation which awaited her, she watched for an op- 
portunity to commit suidde. Octavius with almost equal 
interest guarded his captive, that she might not thus escape 
him. Her fetters were truly those of silk and gold, for she 
was treated with the most profound deference, surrounded 
with all her accustomed luxuries, and all her wants were 
abundantly supplied. 

Octavius indulged himself with a triumphal entrance into 
Alexandria, endeavoring by humanity and condescension to 
secure the favor of the people. Yet cruelly, it would seem, he 
caused the eldest son of Antony, and also Csdsario, Cleopatra's 
son by Julius CsBsar, to be put to death. Fearing nothing 
from any of the other children of Cleopatra, he treated them 



OMBUn AUGVSTVS AlTD MABC AKTONT. 2M 

all as princes, providing them with teachers that they might 
reoeive an education suitable to their rank. 

At length Octavius visited Cleopatra in person. She re- 
raved him artistically languishing upon a couch, draped iv 
gauze-like robes which scarcely concealed her voluptuous 
beauty ; for though the freshness of youth had departed, she 
iv^as still a woman of rare loveliness. No one knew better 
than Cleopatra how to magnify her charms, by tones of soft- 
ness, and that artlessness of n^ianner which is the highest 
achievement of art. Her beautifol eyes were filled with tears, 
her cheek flushed with emotion, and rising from her couch 
she fell, hal^fainting, prostrate at the feet of Octavius. The 
young conqueror lifted the exquisitely moulded, drooping form 
and placed her on the couch by his side^ supporting her against 
his own bosom. A queen whose renown filled the world, 
beautiful, gracefhl, pliant, had thrown herself into his arms. 
How could he treat her cruelly I Had Cleopatra been nine* 
teen instead of thirty-nine, the dedsion might have been dif« 
ferent, and, by facile divorce, the way might have been made 
easy for Cleopatra to share the throne of universal empire 
with Octavius. But as the circumstances were^ ambition 
proved more powerful than love. 

Cleopatra exhausted all her magazines of art — ^tears, smiles, 
reproaches, blandishments, flattery, supplications to win Octa- 
vius, but in vain. He treated her with politeness, but his 
heart remained obdurate. The queen took from her bosom 
some letters, fhll of tenderness, from Julius CsBsar, and with 
a trembling voice and falling tears read them to Octavius. 

" But of what avail to me now," she said, " is all this 
kindness. Why did I not die with him. And yet m Octa> 
vius I see another Julius. You are his perfect image. He 
seems to have returned from the spirit land in you." 

All was in vain. After a long interview Octavius left, and 
Cleopatra reflected in despair that for the first time her charms 
had faOed her. She had surrendered herself to Octavius and 

13 



too ITALT. 

he had coldly laid her aside. What more co^dd she dof 
Nothing. There now remained for her but to die, or to be 
carried to Rome to grace the triumph of her conqueror. 
There was a young Roman in the camp by the name of 
Dolabella. He was much affected with the queen's grief, 
and she, with woman's tact, had soon thrown around him 
all the meshes of her wiles. Dolabella kept her informed of 
all that was transpiring. One day he brought to her couch 
the tidings, that in three days she and her children were to 
be sent to Rome. 

The crisis had now come, and, with singular calmness and 
fortitude, Cleopatra prepared to die. After taking a bath, she 
attired herself in her most sumptuous robes, and sat down 
with her friends to a truly regal feast. Apparently banishing 
all care, the festive hours passed rapidly away. At the close 
of the feast she dismissed all her attendants but two. She 
then wrote a note to Octavius, informing him of her intention 
to die, and requesting that her body might be buried in the 
tomb with that of Antony. She had contrived to have 
brought to her, in a basket of flowers, an asp, a reptile the 
concentrated venom of whose bite causes inevitable death, 
and yet with but little pain. She dispatched the letter to 
Octavius, and immediately placed the reptile upon her arm. 
The poisonous fangs pierced her flesh, stupor and insensibility 
soon ensued, and she sank back upon her couch and died. 

Octavius, immediately upon receiving the letter from Clec- 
patra, dispatched messengers hoping to prevent the fatal deed 
But they arrived too late. Upon entering the chamber they 
found Cleopatra already dead, still arrayed in her royal robeSr 
Her two waiting women were at her side. One of the mes- 
sengers uttered words of reproach; but the maid of honor 
replied : 

" It is well done. Such a death becomes a glorious queen, 
descended from a race of illustrious ancestors." 

Octavius now returned to Rome, the undisputed master ed 



C^SAB AVQVBTVB AVD VARC AITTOHT. Ml 

Ae world, ffis ambition wm gratified in a rery magnificent 
trimnph ; the portrait of Cleopatra with the serpent upon her 
arm, bdng borne rery of inspiciionsly in the train of the cap- 
tives. Rome was now at its oolminating point of power and 
splendor. Sach an empire had never before existed npon 
earth. It contsdned within itself nearly the whole of the 
then known world, being bonnded by the Rhine, the Danube, 
and the Euphrates. It was, however, a heterogeneous realm; 
a conglomeration of discordant states, with every diversity of 
languages, manners, costoms, and laws. The city of Rome 
numbered near four millions of inhalMtants, a motley cooh 
course from all the nations and tribes <^ the world; the air« 
oumference of the city was fifty miles. 

Octavius now commenced a series of measures of refona, 
which have secured alike the approbation of friends and foes. 
Whatever his motives may have been, his actions were noble 
in the highest degree. Every act seemed aimed at the 
promotion of the pubHo wel&re. Barbarous customs were 
abolished; the rights of the citizens protected; humanity 
encouraged , and wholesome laws enacted upon every subject 
which legislation could reach. There was transient peaoe 
throughout the world, and most of the nations, over which 
the Roman eagles fluttered, were in the enjoyment of a mei^ 
sure of prosperity such as the worid had never known before. 

Tliese enactments being in successful operation, and the 
favor of all classes of people being won, Octavius, whatever 
his motives may have been, assembled the s^iate, and in a 
eareftdly prepared speech, which he read to them, resigned all 
his power, expressing the wish to retire to private life, and tc» 
restore Rome to the old constitution of the commonwealth, 
republican in its forms. 'Hie intelligence of most people, even 
now, will decide that such a conglomeration of heterogeneous 
people, so ignorant, so barbaric, so lawless, so infinitely diver- 
sified in manners and laws, could not be well governed by 
Republican institutions. It is said that Octavius could not 



S99 ITALY. 

have been blind to this ; that he not only knew fall well thai 
the senate of Rome would not accede to a measure so suicidaL 
but that he had actually arranged with his partisans in the 
senate to reject his proposal, and that thus his resignation of 
power was a mere trick. 

It may have been so. The motives which influence human 
minds are so conflictive and blending, that it is not easy to 
pronounce judgment. Indeed, the heart often deceives itself. 
Octavius was now thirty-six years of age. Ambition may 
have been sated, and, as he could then retire safely with opu- 
lence, renown, and an immortalized name, he may, with a 
mind now vacillating to this side and now to that of the 
question, have decided to retire to the tranquil dignity open- 
ing before him. At the same time he may have been gratified, 
and his ambition inspired anew, by the solicitations of the 
senate that he should continue in power. But whatever his 
motives may have been, the facts are, that he made a formal 
surrender of all his power into the hands of the senate. 

The senate unanimously, and with urgency which could 
not well be resisted, besought him not to resign, declaring 
that such a surrender of power would plunge the nation into 
irremediable disorder. With reluctance, real or affected, 
Octavius consented to retain the cares of empire for ten years 
longer, expressing the hope that, at the end of that period 
imperial powers would no longer be needed for the interests 
of the state. With the most ardent expressions of joy the 
senate and the people accepted this consent. All parties now 
vied with each other in lavishing honors upon Octavius. The 
senate voted that the epithet August should be ever attached 
to his name of Caesar ; and from that time the prefix Octavius 
has been dropped, and he has thenceforth been known as 
GsBsar Augustus. In his honor the eighth month of the year 
was called August, as the seventh month had been named 
9uly, in commemoration of the renown of Julius Caesar. 

Thus, at the age of thirty-six, Caesar Augustus commenced 



OJBtAB AUOUSTirS AND MABO AKTONT. 

Ub legitimate and undisputed reign, whieh, with the cordial 
Bupport of hoth senate and people, oontinned nndistorbed for 
forty years. His administration was so hrilliant in all henefi- 
dal resolts, that, to the present day, no higher commendation 
can be conferred npon a sovereign, than to compare his admin 
fctration with the Augustan era of tho Roman empire. 

The remote barbaric island of Britain was nominally in 
subjection to Rome. Julius Ciesar, during his campaign in 
Gaul, had crossed the channel with a fleet of ons todCk^ 
galleys, and, after several fierce battles with the savage inhabit- 
ants, declared liimself conqueror of the island, and, laden with 
what was then called glory, but with nothing more substantial, 
returned to Rome. The petty chiefs of the tribes of Britain 
oocasionaUy sent gifts to Augustus CsBsar to propitiate h» 
ikvor, for th3 foray of Julius CsBsar had made them alarmingly 
acquainted with the energy of Roman arms. 

The despotic power held by Augustus, was conferred upon 
him by the appointment of the people, and it was universally 
understood that this power was wielded for the public benefit. 
AU history shows that to such despotism communities will 
readily submit. Such was the despotism of the first Napol« 
eon. The French people regarded him as their own creation. 
They regarded with admiration the sagacity and energy witli 
which he swayed the scepter of power for their good ; and 
they were ever eager to confer upon the idol they had en- 
throned, more power than he wished to assume. 

By the famous Portian law, the origin of which is lost in 
obscurity, no Roman citizen could be either scourged or put 
|to death. No matter what his crime, the severest penalty 
which could be inflicted upon a citize/i was exile and confisca- 
tion of property. Even in the army, a Roman soldier could 
not be flogged; though the scourge was ap})lied ireely to 
soldiers from the allies. Such was the law. In times of 
mutiny, however, and in seasons of popular violence, tiie law 
was often disregarded. 



294 ITALT. 

The jrhole Italian peninsula, from the Alps to the Strsuti 

of Messina was now called Italy, and all the native born in- 

bitants of this region had attained the rights of Roman 

♦izenship. We must exclude, however, from these rights, a 

ge number of slaves, torn from their homes in various 
nations by the rapacity of war. Sicily was at this time quite 
desolate. It had recently been ravaged by the wars between 
Csesar and Sextus Pompey, and impoverished cities and 
wasted fields everywhere met the eye. Immense flocks and 
herds tended by slaves, were pastured on its fertile plains and 
mountain sides. The islands of Corsica and Sardinia were 
in a similar state, only the inhabitants, on a much lower scale 
of civilization, were exceedingly barbarous, and robbers 
roamed the mountains and in piratic bands infested all the 
neighboring seas. They, not unfrequently, even crossed the 
Bea to Italy, and, after plundering a few houses, retreated to 
their inaccessible fastnesses where they could bid defiance to 
the Roman power. 

The condition of the Alpine provinces, bordering Italy on 
the north, had been essentially the same. But Augustus 
Csesar himself had, at one time, in traversing those provinces, 
lost all his baggage and many of his soldiers from an attack 
by the robbers, which so exasperated him, that he entirely 
extirpated the nation of the Salassi, selling no less than forty- 
four thousand of them into slavery. He then colonized the 
country with Roman settlers. One of the colonies was estab- 
Bshed at Aosta, at the head of the valley from whence two 
roads, still famous, branch across the Alps, one for mules over 
the Great St. Bernard, and the other, then practicable for car- 
nages, over the Little St. Bernard. Thus tranquil communr- 
eation with Gaul was secured. 

Gaul had hardly yet recovered from the rough usage it 
had encountered in its recent subjugation to Rome. But 
twenty years had elapsed since Julius Csesar swept over it 
with his legions. The Roman conquest, introducing Roman 



OMBAU AUGUSTUS AND MABC ANTOKT. 29$ 

kws, arts and commerce, had proved so beneficial to the 
realm, that the Gallic people were well satisfied with the 
resnlt. Roman colonies had been established in different 
parts of the kingdom. Still the extortions of the Roman 
governors were at times very oppressive, and yet perhaps 
not more so than were the exactions of the native rulers of 
Gaul. Human sacrifices were prohibited by the Romans, and 
also the barbaric custom of carrying about as ornaments, the 
skulls of enemies. Learned Greeks became in great demand 
in the cities of Gaul as teachers. As the Gauls had no litera- 
ture of their own, the old Celtic language, which was not a 
written language, rapidly disappeared, and the Roman took 
its place. The Latin became of necessity the court language, 
and was almost exclusively adopted by the higher classes. 

The peninsula of Spain was at that time divided into three 
provinces, BsBtica, Lusitania, and Hispania Tarnu lensis, each 
of which was placed under the dominion of a Roman governor. 
Spain had been in the possession of Rome for about two hun- 
dred years, and was the most flourishing part of the empire. 
The inhabitants had become almost entirely Roman in dress, 
manners, and speech. From the valley of the Gandalquiver, 
then one of the most fertile and densely populated on the 
globe, a very lucrative traffic was carried on, along the shores 
of the Mediterranean, with the cities of Italy. The articles 
transported in this traffic were wool, com, wine, oil, wax, 
honey, and an insect used in producing a celebrated scarlet 
dye. The Spanish merino was then, as now, highly cele- 
brated, a Siiigie ram often selling for over nine hundred dollars 
of our money. Spain was also rich in mineral treasures, gold, 
silver, lead, tin, iron, and copper. The present towns of 
Cordova and Seville were then distinguished Roman colonies. 

All the northern coast of Africa, from the present site of 

Algiers to the straits of Gibraltar, was called Mauritania. 

Augustus had conferred the sovereignty of this province 

' iq>on Juba, an African prince, who had married one of le 



298 ITAf.T. 

daughters of Antony and Cleopatra. The portion of northeni 
Africa, bordering on the Mediterranean, east of this region, 
extending several hundred miles, was called tho province of 
Africa, and was assigned to a proconsul, with a military estab- 
lishment of two legions. It was a powerful province, and was 
engaged in almost constant warfare with tho barbaric tribes 
of the unexplored interior. A very thrifty trade was carried 
on between this re^on and the Italian dties. Next eastward, 
came the large province Cyr^iaica or Libya, ori^aily a Gre- 
cian colony, but now devoured by the (nnnivorous Ronuui 
empire. From this region the currraits of trade flowed east* 
ward, by the way of Egypt and the Red sea, to India. There 
was then a canal from the delta of the Nile to Suez on the T >d 
sea. There was also a land route across the desert, UAeniiif 
supplied with water from wells and reservoirs. Alexandria 
was the great Egyptian port for all this commerce. When 
the Apostle Paul sailed from Syria to Rome, he informs «s 
that the voyage was made in a ship from Alexandria. ^ When 
we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia," he 
writes, " we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. And there the 
centurion found a ship of Alexandria, and he put us dierdn.'' 

At this time Alexandria was the second city in the Romm 
empire. 

Leaving Egypt and following along the coast of the Medi 
terranean to the .^^ean sea, we pass through the extensive, 
populous, and opulent provinces of Syria and Asia Minor. 
These provinces were cut up into smaller subdivisions, all 
subjected to Roman controL Throughout this wide region 
Greek was the language commonly spoken, particularly by 
the higher classes. Still there were very many languages 
and dialects in vogue in the different provinces. The enor- 
mous expenses of the Roman armies demanded heavy taxa- 
tion; and the tax-gatherers, unprincipled and extortimiate, 
were detested by the people. 

All Greece was divided into the two great provinces oi 



CMBAM AirOFSTirS AND MABO ARTOVr. Mt 

Macedonia and Aohaia. CSyil war had swept these provinoes 
with a blast more destmctive than tornado ever inflicted* 
Hie war between Julias Cfesar and Pompej was a stonu 
which emptied all its vials upon that devoted land. The 
dond was but just disappearing, and the thunders of the 
tonpest had scaroelj ceased their reverberations, when the 
blackness of another cloud appeared in the horizon, gleam* 
mg and rumbling with the most terrific menace. Again 
the tempest swept the land, as the legions of the triumvirs 
and of Brutus and Gassius surged to and fro in billows of 
flame and blood. The ashes of the cities were still smoking, 
and the clotted blood still crimsoned the fields, when the 
bugle blasts announced the rush of sdll other l^ions to the 
war scathed arena, and all the powers of the east, under 
Antony and Cleopatra, met all the powers of the west under 
Octavius Caesar, to contend for the mastery of the world* 
Greece, scathed, depopulated, smoldering, presented but a 
melancholy aspect of ruin and despair. But notwithstanding 
tfus material desolation, Greece still maintained her proflai 
■Boco in literature^ philosophy, and the arts. 



CHAPTER XVI, 

TDBBRTOS CaSAE, OAWGULA, AND OLAUDIUa 

From 10 b. a to a. d. 61. 

fhrvQiTAL DnriBioir of Wxaltb.^-Si^tvbt.— Tmi Jbwb.— Tibkbiub Cobab.— DBA<n 
OF Omrah. Augustus.— Ttbanmt of Tibkbius.— His Bxtbeat of OAPBBiB^— Death 
OF OsBHAinous.— Ediot against thb Plat-Aotobb.— TxsTiMomr of TAomm.— 
Tbbbiblb Aooidbkt. — Caligula. — ^Dbath of Tibbbius. — Gbuoifixion of oub 
8ATI0UB.— BxiGN OF Galioula.— His Cbubltt and Madness. — Assassinatioh 
OF Calioula.— AooBBSiov OF Olavdius.— AmoDOTBB.— Dbath of Glaudifs*-- 
AooBssioN of Nbbo.— Hm Ghabaotbb. 

rpHERE has never been any period of the world in which 
-*- wealth has been so unequally divided, as dnring the Au- 
gustan age of the Roman empire. The great genends and 
the haughty nobles rioted in princely luxury, exhausting, in 
their voluptuous pleasures, the revenues of whole provinces. 
There was an order of Roman citizens, below the nobles, 
called equites, or knights. The fortune necessary to admit a 
man into this order, was about sixteen thousand dollars of our 
money; and yet in the city of Rome, with a population of 
over four millions, there were but four thousand persons, not 
nobles, possessed of this sum. An immense number of the 
population, at but a slight remove above begging, were mainly 
supported by the bounty, so called, of the emperor ; that is, 
distant provinces were robbed to feed the idle population of 
Rome, which population was ever eager to rush into the 
armies of the Caesars. Consequently, the circling and swoop- 
mg of the Roman eagles was pretty certain to be seen, 
wherever plunder was to be found. And no plunder was 
more eagerly grasped, by the brutal soldiery of pagan Rome, 
than the matrons and maidens of the conquered nations. But 



TIBXXIirS CJIBAR, CALIGULA, AND OLAUDIITS. 2M 

BtUe more than half a century before the reign of i. tpsar An 
gastns, one of the oonsols at Rome, L. Philippus declared 
that there was not at that time in the whole ccmmon wealth 
more than two thousand citizens worth any thing. An amaa- 
ing statement, which, however it may have been exaggerated, 
proves the deplorable state of the times. 

All the industry and prosperity of the empire were cursed 
and crushed by slavery. By the opulent families slaves were 
00 generally employed, that there was no eucouragement for 
the free laborer. As the slaves were of the same race with 
thdr masters, many of them bdng men of high culture and 
genius, they were occupied in Uie most important vocations. 
Even architecture, medicine, and the liberal arts and pro* 
fessions were in their hands ; and these employments were, 
oonsequently, rendered less respectable and less profitable, 
when pursued by others. 

The condition of the slaves, generally, was dreadful. The 
barbarous wars, ravaging all lands, had glutted the market ; 
and the slaves were so cheap, that there were but feeble 
motives of self-interest to restrain masters from the inhuman- 
ity of wearing out their slaves by neglect and hard usage. 
According to Plutarch, slaves could often be purchased in the 
Roman camp for three shillings of our money. In that day 
there were no newspapers, no established mails for letters, no 
public means of conveyance for travelers. Many of the Ro- 
man roads, however, were excellent, and there were relays of 
horses to expedite the journeys of government couriers. The 
eastern and western extremities of the Roman empire, were 
separated by the formidable barrier of totally different Ian* 
gnages, the Latin being the predominant language in the west, 
the Oreek in the east. In the elementary schools at Rome, 
nothing was taught but reading and arithmetic; and the 
teachers were men of the humblest station and acquirements. 
The religion of Rome had but the slightest influence in the 
control of morals. It was an axiom among the philosophers, 



MO ITAI.T. 

that God cotild never be the cause of pain or punishment, audi, 
consequently, they had no fear of any divine retribution fot 
whatever crimes. And the silly superstitions of the vulgar, 
had about as much influence over the habits of life, as the fear 
of ghosts has at the present day. The writings, the paintings, 
the statuary, still extant, all attest to the exceeding grossnese 
of manners, and the unmitigated sensuality which then pre- 
vailed. The idea even of sympathy and brotherly kindness 
between man and man, seems hardly to have existed. We 
turn over page after page of the ancient writers, in the vain 
endeavor to find any allusion to those virtues. There were no 
alms-houses, no hospitals, no societies of benevolence. No 
one raised his voice against the degradation of the lower 
classes, against slavery, against the crimes of the kidnapp^, 
and the atrocities of the slave market. 

The Jews were widely scattered over the eastern pro- 
vinces of the empire. Their kingdom, in Syria, had first 
been overrun by the Greeks, then by the Romans. Thdr 
native language, as a spoken tongue, was lost; so entirely 
was it lost, that it had been found necessary to translate their 
scriptures into Greek. This translation, called the Septua- 
gint, from the number of learned Jews engaged in it, was 
made, or rather commenced, about 280 years b. c, and con- 
tained " The Scriptures" in general use by the Jews at the 
time of our Saviour, and from which our Saviour quoted in 
His public and private addresses. Here and thep e, scattered 
over the cities and villages of Palestine, were individuals, 
Romans and others, who, having read these scriptures, had 
imbibed their ennobling spirit. Enlightened by the revela- 
tion of one God, of immortality, of the nature of piety, these 
" proselytes of the gate" who had yet not become Jews, wor* 
shiped the true God, and were thus distinguished, in character 
and moral conduct, from the pagans around them, and frwn 
whom they emerged. They were spoken of by the Jews as 
^ devout" persons, who feared God. Such mm tlw Roman 



TIBSBIV8 C^SAB, ALiaULA, AKD CLAlTDIirB. Ml 

Mntorion, Coineliin, and many others spoken of in tbe Nen 
Testament. 

Fourteen years before the death of Caesar Angnstns, oin 
Saviour, Jesns, the long-promised Messiah, was bom, in Beth- 
lehem of Jadea, in the days of Herod the king. Herod was 
a native of Syria. He had fought imder the banners of 
Brutus and Cassius. After their overthrow he joined Maro 
Antony, and by him was appointed king of Judea, one of the 
peovinces of Palestine. After the disastrous battle of Actium, 
Herod paid such sucoessfU court to the conqueror, Octavius 
C»sar, that he was oonfirmed in his kingdom. He was a man 
of distinguished abilities but of ungovernable passions, and 
execrable and in&mous in character. This was the Herod 
who ordered the assassination of all the babes of Bethlehem, 
hoping thus to destroy the infant Messiah. He died miser- 
ably a few years afler the advent of Christ. 

It will be remembered that Augustus Csasar had married, 
as his third wife, livia Drusilla, then the wife of Tiberius 
Nero, a Roman noUe and general. C»sar had, at that time, 
by his wife Scribonia whom he repudiated for allied profli- 
gacy, a daughter Julia. Livia had also a son Tiberius. Julia 
and Tiberius, by the marriage of Octavius and Livia, be- 
came brother and sister in law. They, however, were subse- 
quently married, and, as CsBsar had no other children, Tiberius 
was adopted as his heir. Julia was so shamefully and un- 
blushingly profligate, glorying, with more than masculine 
effirontery, in her amours, that Augustus himself ordered her 
oiTorce, and banished her to a small island just off the coast 
of Campania. Here she was imprisoned and treated with 
great rigor, her father refusing to forgive her, or even to see 
her again. None are so mercUess towards libertines, as liber- 
tines themselves. 

CsBsar Augustus was now advancing in life, and, during 
Ae last ten years of his reign, associated Tiberius with him 
in the administration of the «npire. As the shades of the 



803 ITALY. 

evening of life darkened around Angastus, he displayed whih 
increasing conspicuousness, that gentleness, courteousness, and 
affability, which had characterized his reign for forty years. 
He forbade any one to call him " lord " or master. When 
the people urged him to assmne the title of dictator, he cast 
aside his robe, saying that he had rather they would plunge % 
dagger into Ids breast than give him that odious name. He 
adopted the utmost simplijoity in his equipage and his style 
of living. When a delegation was presented to him, to an- 
nounce in the name of the senate and the people, the title 
conferred upon him of "Father of his Country," he was 
affected even to tears, and replied : 

"I have now gamed all that I have desired. What is 
there left for me to pray for, but that I may preserve, to the 
last day of my life, this same unanimous love of my country- 
men." 

When seventy-six years of age he accompanied Tiberius on 
a journey to Beneventum, about one hundred and fifty miles 
south of Rome. Here he was slightly attacked with illness. 
Returning slowly, as his disease grew more serious, he 
stopped at Nola, at the paternal mansion where his Mher 
died. Here, at three o'clock in the afternoon of the nine- 
teenth of August, A. D. 13, the emperor, Augustus CaBsar, 
expired, saying with his last breath : 

" Farewell Livia ! and ever remember our long union." 

It is characteristic of the awful corruption of those times, 
that no one seems to have been shocked at the supposition 
that Livia poisoned her husband. Tacitus attempts to explain 
the motives which might have influenced Livia to this crime. 
Poisonings and assassinations were so common, that such 
atrocities seem hardly to have been regarded as a breach of 
respectable morality, if there were any motive, in the line oi 
expediency, for the deed. 

One of the first acts of Tiberius, who now rmgned untram* 
meled, was to assassinate Agrippa, the son of his divorced 



TIBERIUS C^SAR, OAIiaULA, AND CLAUDIUS. 303 

wife Julia. Agrippa, otterly debauched, was as bad as his 
mother. Tiberius said that Augustus had enjoined it upoi 
him, with his dying breath, not to allow Agrippa to live one 
day after Augustus should breathe his last. Tacitus, howevei*. 
says: 

" It is more probable that Tiberius and lavia, the former 
from motives of fear, the latter impelled by a step-mother's 
aversion, expedited the destruction of this young man, the 
object of their jealousy and hatred." 

It is recorded of Augustus Csesar, that he was in stature a 
little below the ordinary sice, admirably proportioned, with 
brown hair, slightly curled, and a countenance remarkably 
genial and mild. He was extremely temperate in eating and 
drinking, but a seducer and adulterer, a man of groveling 
sensuality. Gaming was a vice which followed him through 
aU his years. His education was good, and all his intellectual 
efforts, whether in writing or speaking, highly creditable to 
him. His public speeches were carefully written, and commit- 
ted to memory. He never was considered a man of courage 
even on the field of battle, where, inflamed by the excitement, 
oowards can easUy be brave. He had a constitutional dread 
ai lightning, and when there was a severe storm, would hide 
himself in the interior of his house. But his reign, as a 
whole, was so infinitely superior to that of any of his prede- 
cessors, that the *' Augustan era " of any nation has become a 
proverbial expression to denote harmony, prosperity, and en- 
lightenment. 

The funeral of Augustus was solemnized at Rome with 
great magnificence. Tiberius pronounced the eulogy in the 
presence of the assembled senate. Temples were erected for 
his worship, divine honors decreed to him, and the supersti* 
Uous people were ftiliy confirmed in the belief of his divinity, 
as one of the senators, Numerius Atticus, attested on oadi 
that he had seen Augustus ascending to heaven* 

Tiberius Csesar, on his accession to the government of the 



804 ITALY. 

Roman empire, was fifty-six years of age. With the excep- 
tion of the assassination of Agrippa, which Rome seems to 
have regarded as a mere peccadillo, the commencement of his 
reign was distinguished by clemency, sagacity, and devotion 
to the public interests. But soon Tiberius entered a career of 
eruelty, which has transmitted his name with infamy to the 
present day. 

Retiring from Rome he sought a retreat in Campania, a 
province composing part of the present kingdom of Naples, 
and which was then deemed the most mild, salubrious, and 
fertile spot upon the globe. At a short distance from the 
shore was the beautiful island of Capreaa. Here Tiberius sur- 
rendered himself to the most extravagant luxury, and to every 
sensual indulgence, heedless of the complaints and the jdsery 
of his subjects. Crime created suspicion, and suspicion engen- 
dered cruelty. Secret spies were listening at all key-holes, and 
the most harmless actions were construed into deadly offenses. 

The legions on the banks of the Danube had a commander 
by the name of Germanicus, who was the idol of the soldiery. 
His troops urged upon him to assume the sovereign power, 
promising to support him with their swords. Indignantly he 
repelled the suggestion, punishing as traitors those who were 
the instigators of the revolt. Nevertheless Tiberius, notwith- 
standing the loyalty of Germanicus, thus effectually tried, 
dreading his popularity, ordered him on a distant mission, 
where he soon perished, if not by poison, administered by 
command of Tiberius as was supposed, certainly by hardships 
and exposure, which the emperor had arranged to secure his 
death. The children of Germanicus were denounced as ene. 
mies of the state, and several of them were thrown into 
prison, where they were starved to death. The wife of Ger- 
manicus, thus widowed and childless, was driven into exile. 
Execution now followed execution. Suspicion doomed multi- 
tudes to imprisonment, torture, and death without the formal- 
ity of trial. When one, to escape this cruel torture of the 



TIBSBI1TB O^SAB, OALI«ITLA, AND CLAUDIUS. 801 

raok, ooinmitted auioide, Tiberius expi*ea8ed deep regret thai 
the victim had thus escaped him. Wheu another, iu agony 
insupportable, implored that death might put an end to his 
sufferings, Tiberius exclaimed, ''I am not sufficiently your 
friend to shorten your torments.^' 

The fear of assassination embittered every hour of this 
monster's life. The miseries he inflicted upon others ra* 
bounded upon himsel£ Piso, one of the most illustrious of 
the Koman gmerals, finding that his own doom was sealed, 
retired to his chamber and plunged a dagger into his heart. 
He had but executed the orders which Tiberius had issued, 
and he was then pursued unrelentingly, that it might be made 
to appear that Tiberius had not directed but condemned his 
acts. He left the following touching letter addressed to 
Tiberius: 

^^ Oppressed by the combination of my enemies, and the 
odium of fidsely imputed crimes ; since no place is left here 
for truth and ianocence, I appeal to the immortal gods, that 
toward you, G»sar, I have lived with sincere fiuth, nor toward 
your mother with less reverenoe. For my sons I implore her 
protection and yours. My son Cn»us had no share in the 
events laid to my charge, of whatever character they were, 
since during the whole time he abode at Rome. My son 
Marcus dissuaded me from returning to Syria. Oh that, old 
as I am, I had yielded to him, rather than he, young as he is, 
to me ! Hence the more earnestly I pray that, innocent as he 
is, he be not involved in the punishment of my guilt. By my 
devoted services for five-and-forty years, I entreat you; 1 
who formerly, during my fellowship in the consulship with 
the deified Augustus, your father, enjoyed his approbation 
and your friendship ; I, who shall never ask your lavor hera^ 
after, implore your mercy for my unhappy son." 

It is a fact, worthy of record, but not easily explained, 
that during so corrupt a reign as that of Tiberius, when 
all manner of licentiousness was practiced with unblushing 



d06 ITALY 

efifrontery, even Tiberius shonld have entered a complamt to 
the senate, against the demoralizing influence of play-actors. 

" In many instances," said the emperor, " they seditiously 
violate the public peace. Many promote debauchery in pri- 
vate families. The Oscan Farce, formerly only the contenkp- 
tible delight of the vulgar, has risen to such a pitch of 
depravity, and has exercised such an influence on society 
(hat it must be checked by the authority of the senate." 

The play-actors, thus denounced as a public nuisance, were 
expelled from Italy. The senate and the Roman people had 
become so obsequious, that a proposition was made that a 
temple should be reared to Tiberius, and that he should be 
worshiped with divine honors. In the utterance of the fol- 
lowing fine sentiments Tiberius rejected the proposal; showing, 
in accordance with the declaration of Paul, that there is a 
law of right and wrong, written upon the human heart, 
which renders every man, pagan as well as Christian, ac- 
countable at God's bar : 

" For myself," Tiberius replied, " I solemnly assure you, 
and I would have posterity remember it, that I am a mortal 
man; and that I am confined to the functions of human 
nature, and that if I well fulfill my duties as a sovereign it 
sufiices me. Justice will be rendered to my memory, if I am 
regarded as worthy of my ancestors, watchful of your in- 
terests, unmoved in perils, and fearless of private enmities in 
defense of the public weal. These are the temples I would 
raise in your breasts. These are the fairest efligies, and such 
as will endure. 

" As for temples of stone, if the judgment of posterity 
changes from favor to dislike, they are despised, as no better 
than sepulchers. Hence it is that I here invoke the gods, 
that, to the end of my life, they would grant me a spirit 
undisturbed, and discerning in duties human and divine. 
And hence, too, I implore our citizens and allies, that, when 
ever my dissolution comes, they would celebrate my actions 



TIBXBIITB OiBBAB, 0ALI01ILA| AND OLAUDIVB. MY 

and the odor of mj name with praiseBf and benevolent testi* 
monies of benevolence." 

It was nine years after Tiberius commenced his reign that 
he retit'kl from Rome to the island of Capre®. Tacitas, ie 
allusion to this retirement, says that the probable motive for 
seeking this retreat was ^'that he might indulge his cruel 
and libidinous disposition with greater effect in the secrecy of 
a retired situation. Some thought that in his old age he was 
ashamed of his personal appearance, for he was exceedingly 
emaciated, lank, and stooping, his head bald, his face ulcerous, 
and thickly patched with plasters.'' Tacitus states that there 
was also a report that Tiberius was driven from Rome by the 
restless spirit of his mother, whom he scorned to admit as a 
partner in the sovereignty, which she demanded, since through 
her he had received the sovereignty itself. 

For six years Tiberius remained at CapreiB. During this 
time there were many revolts in distant provinces and many 
oonspiracies at home, all of which were put down with a 
bloody hand. A terrible accident occurred at this time, sur- 
passing anything which has been experienced in modem days. 
A man by the name of Atillius erected at Fidenie, a few miles 
from Rome, as a pecuniary speculation, an immense amphi« 
theater, for gladiatorial exhibitions. As his sole object was 
to make money, he sordidly built it upon a weak foundation, 
without suffi(*ient braces, for an edifice so vast and to contain 
such multitudes. Crowds of all ages and both sexes flocked 
from Rome to witness these games. The theater was filled 
to overflowing, and a countless throng surrounded the walls, 
wlien they gave way, with an awM crash, some portions 
bulgmg out and overwhelming the multitudes swarming 
a*'>und the walls, while other portions tumbled inwards. 
Thousands were instantly killed, but other thousands crushed 
and mangled were buried beneath the ruins. Their cries and 
groans, for many days and nights, fiUed the air as they were 
laboriously dug out from the mass of timber and stone Ai> 



306 ITALY. 

cording to Tacicas the carnage resulting from this one accident, 
^SLS greater than the slaughter at Waterloo. Fifty thousand 
persons were crashed or maimed by this terrible disaster, 
which led to an efficient senatorial enactment to prevent a 
lecurrence of such a calamity. 

There was at Rome a young man, called Caligula, son of 
that renowned general, Germanicns, whom Tiberius had so 
much feared, and whom it is supposed he had caused to be 
put to death. This young man^ utterly dissolute, had played 
the sycophant with so much address, flattering Tiberius, 
applauding his voluptuousness and cruelty, and paying him 
the most servile homage, that he so ingratiated himself in the 
favor of the tyrant, who had no children, that he adopted him 
as a son, and took him to share his counsels and his debauchery 
at Caprese. Of this Caligula a distinguibhed Roman orator re- 
marked, " Never was there a better slave or a worse master." 
Tiberius himself said of Caligula, " He has all the vices of 
Sylla, with none of his virtues." 

At length the sands of the tyrant Tiberius were run out, 
and his death hour tolled. He did everything in his power 
to drive off reflection, and to deceive himself with hopes of 
continued life. But the king of terrors was inexorable. 
Tiberius had left his retreat at Capreaa, and was at this time at 
Misenum, near Naples. As he was reclining upon his couch, 
death rapidly approaching, his physician felt his pulse, and 
whispered to others, " His life is ebbing fast ; he can not long 
continue." A Minting fit ensued, which led all to think that 
he was dead. 

The courtiers immediately, mindless of the corpse, sur- 
rounded Caligula with congratulations, declaring him the 
fluccessor. Triumph and joy reigned through the apartments, 
and Caligula was exultingly receiving the homage ever at- 
t^idant upon a new reign, when, to the consternation of aH 
it was announced that Tiberius had revived and was calling 
for attendants and food. But the wretched old man was 



TIBXBIVB OJiSAB, CALIOITLA. AND OLAVDIITt. 

helpless. A few persons entered his chamber, took a piQoW) 
pressed it upon his &ce ; and, after a short and feeble stmg* 
gle, the smothered monarch lay still in death. Thus expired 
Tlberins in the seventy-eighth year of his age, and the ^wenty- 
aecond of his reign. 

Our Savionr was crucified in the righteenth year of the 
reign of Tiberius CsBsar. Pontius Pilate was at this time the 
Roman governor of Judea. Though the Jews were per- 
mitted to retain many of their local laws, they were not 
permitted to inflict the death penalty, without the approval 
of the Roman governor. Hence the Jews having condenmed 
onr Saviour, took EQm to Pilate for the confirmation of the 
sentence. Pilate, deeming the sentence unjust, as he could find 
no ground even for accusation, and yet not willing to displease 
his Jewish subjects, referred the case to Herod, son of Heroa 
the Great, who was then tetrarch, or sub-governor of Galilee, 
the province in Judea in which oar Saviour had been arrested, 
and who with most propriety should take cognizance of the 
charges against Him. This was the Herod who beheaded 
John the Baptist at the instigation of his wife Herodias, 
because John had denounced their incestuous union. 

But Herod was unwilling to assume the responsibility of 
oondenming a man to death who was manifestly guiltless, and 
referred the matter back again to his superior Pilate. The 
governor, thus forced to action, wickedly surrendered the 
victim to His persecutors, at the same time declaring that 
Jesus was innocent of crime, and that aU the responsibility 
of His death must remain upon the heads of His executioners, 
**His blood be upon us^" they exclaimed, ^*and on our 
%Mldren.'* 

It is related by Justin, and by Tertullian, Eusebius, and 
otners who have perhaps followed his narrative, that Pilate 
wrote to the emperor Tiberius an account of the crucifixion 
of our Savioui by the Jews, His subsequent resurrection, and 
the miracles which He performed, and that Tiberius was so 



910 ITALY. 

impressed hj this iiarration that he reported it to the senate, 
with a recommendation characteristic of the superstition of 
the times, that Christ should be recognized as divine, and 
take His place as one of the crowd of Roman gods. The 
senate did not accede to his request, but Tiberius issued an 
edict commanding that Christians should not be molested in 
their worship. 

Caligula commenced his reign with a brief attempt to 
decure popularity by justice. But not one year had passed 
away ere he surrendered himself to the uncontrolled dominion 
of lusts and passions, rendered furious and untameable by 
years of indulgence. Elated by the accession to sovereign 
power, Caligula assumed the most arrogant airs, demanded 
divine honors, and appropriated to himself the names of such 
divinities as he thought he most resembled. His conduct was 
ofbea that of an idiotic madman. He erected a temple of 
gold, and placed in it a statue, dressed daily in similar clothes 
to those which he that day wore. Crowds were influenced 
to gather around the statue in worship. The most exquisite 
dehcacies which money could purchase, were ofiered in sacri- 
fice at his shrine. He even, with sacred rites, ordained his 
wife and his horse to officiate as priests in the service of the 
temple, rested for his deification. His extravagance in luxury 
and personal gratification exceeded all bounds. His baths 
were composed of the most costly liquids, his service was of 
gold; and jewels were dissolved in his sauces His horse, 
Incitalus, occupied a stable of marble, with a manger of ivory. 
Gilt oats were presented him to eat, and wine from a golden 
goblet to drink. 

The cruelty of Caligula was equal to his insane folly. 
Senators were slain at his command, uncondemned and un- 
tried. Death, in the most cruel form, was the doom of any 
one who incurred his suspicion. He fed his wild beasts with 
the bodies of his victims, tossing them into their dens to be 
devoured alive. No spectacle was so pleasing to him as th^ 



TIBSBIUS CJiSAB, CALIGULA, AND GLAUDIUB 811 



tortvires of the dying. His spirit, demonized by cruelty, 
wrought up to such a frenzy, that he was heard to exi)re88 
the wish that all the Roman people had but one neck, that he 
might dispatch them at a blow. His warlike expeditions to 
Gaul and Grermany were marked by folly which the world 
had never before seen paraUeled. Indeed, if one half is true 
which history has transmitted to us respecting Caligula, there 
never was an inmate of a mad house more thoroughly and 
detestably crazy. 

Such a monster, wielding the scepter of omnipotent power, 
oould not live long. As one after another of the members of 
his court was stricken down, it was plain to the survivors that 
there was no alternative before them but to kill or be killed. 
Caligula, having every nerve of suspicion quivering with sen- 
sitiveness, suspected a conspiracy for his assassination. A 
beautiful woman, Quintilia, was arrested, as acquainted with 
the plot, and put to the rack to extort a confession. Heroic- 
ally she endured the awful agony, and every joint in her body 
was dislocated. This act roused the conspirators to the 
immediate execution of their deed, and Cherea, a Roman 
senator, as Caligula was going to the bath, plunged a dagger 
into his heart, exclaiming, ** Tyrant, think of this." Thus 
perished one of the most execrable monsters who ever bur- 
dened a throne. At the time of his death Caligula was but 
twenty-nine years of age, having reigned less than four years. 
It has been well said of this despot, " Nature seemed to have 
brought him forth to show what mischief could be effected by 
the greatest vices, supported by the greatest authority." 

The conspiracy, which plunged the dagger into the bosom 
of Caligula, was but the spasmodic movement of despair. No 
arrangements whatsoever were made, or even contemplated, 
for securing a successor, or for continuing the government, 
and consequently there ensued a singular scene of coniiision 
and anarchy. The conspirators, terrified, and not knowing 
what destruction, like an avalanche, might fall upon them, fled 



912 I^TALT. 

into an possible conceidments. The worthless sycoplants and 
partisians of Caligula, anticipatiiig the same doom which had 
befallen thdr infamous confederate, also fled in the utmost 
consternation. Some soldiers, stroUing through the deserted 
palace, found hid, and trembling, behind some rubbish, an 
uncle of Caligula, named Claudius. He was an unfortunate 
man, fifty years of age, totally devoid of common sense, hav- 
ing experienced some serious mental injury fl*om the diseases 
of infancy ; and yet he had manifested some ability as a writer. 
General viciousness was a prominent trait in his character. 

The soldiers took the affiighted, half crazed man, and de- 
dared him to be emperor. Then, in a body, marching to the 
senate, by the moral suasion of gleaming swords and sharp 
pointed spears, they influenced the senate to confirm the 
appointment. This poor wretch had a wife, Messalina, the 
renown of whose profligacy has survived the lapse of eigh- 
teen centuries. She has attained the preeminence of being 
regarded the most abandoned woman earth has known. It is 
recorded that every man, in the household of the emperor, 
was her paramour. Officers, play-actors, bufibons, slaves, all 
were alike welcomed by Messalina. Her atrocities were fiir 
too shameftil to be recorded. The ladies of her court were 
compelled to practice in her presence the same shameM enor- 
mities in which she indulged, and whoever refused, was 
punished with torture and death. At length one of her para* 
mours, with the connivance of Claudius, openly murdered her. 
The brutal husband was alike regardless of the infamy oif her 
life, and of the lawless violence which effected her death. 

Claudius, afterward, in the midst of his boundless debauch- 
eries, recognized one of his paramours, Agrippina, as his legal 
wife. She had already given birth to the child subsequently 
known as the monster Nero. She was the fourth wife of 
Claudius, two having been divorced and one killed. The 
question is sometimes asked whether the world, on the whole, 
is advancing or retrograding in moral eharact^. No 



TIBXBMTS OiBBABi OALIGITLA, AND OLAUDIITB. SIS 

who is familiar with the history of the past, will ask that 
question. England and America, manifold as are the evils in 
both countries, are as far in advance of ancient Rome, in all 
that constitutes integrity and virtue, as is the most refined 
Christian family in advance of the most degraded, godlesSi 
and debauched. 

Some of the first acts of the rdgn of Claudius were hu- 
mane, and seemed intended to promote the public good. But 
the possession of unUmited power, soon developed the mahg* 
nity and energy of a demon. Britain was at this time rent 
with intestine divisions, the barbaric tribes struggling against 
each other in deadly warfare. There seemed to be no proa* 
peot of any end to the strife. Berious, the leader of one of 
these tribes, or petty nations, went to Rome and urged the 
emperor to make a descent upon the island, assuring him that 
in its present distracted state it could be easily subdued. An 
army was accordingly dispatched for its conquest. Marching 
across Gaul, and embarking on board their ships on the shores 
of the channel, they crossed to the savage island, and after 
many sanguinary battles with the natives, planted the banners 
of the empire securely there. 

Claudius was greatly elated with this conquest, and repau^ 
ed ill person to Britun that he might receive the homage of 
his new subjects. This was a. d. 46. After remaining upon 
the island sixteen days he returned to Rome, where a magnifi- 
cent triumph awaited him. His achievements were deemed so 
important, that annual games were instituted in commemorar 
tiou of them. The conquest, however, was very imperfect^ 
since but a few tribes had been vanquished, and a large 
portion of the island still remained under the sway of its war- 
ring, but independent chieftains. A Roman general, Plautius, 
and his lieutenant Vespasian, who subsequently rose to great 
renown, were left to continue the subjugation of the island, 
lliirty battles were fought before Britain was fidrly reduced, 
A. D. 61, to the form of a Roman piovinoe. But atin for many 

1 



514 I T A L It . 

years remote tribes, in their fs^tnesses, bade defiance to fdl the 
armies of Rome. 

Carradog, or Caractacus, as he is sometimes called, the 
king of South Wales, was one of the most valiant and suo- 
cessM of the opponents of the Roman general But the 
valor of barbarians was of but little avail against the dlsci« 
plined legions of the empire. In a decisive battle he was 
taken prisoner, with his wife and daughter, and, as trophies 
of the conquest, they were sent to Claudius. When Carradog 
beheld the splendor of the impei lal capital, dazzled by the 
wealth, poww, and gorgeousness which surrounded him, he 
exclaimed : 

" How is it possible that people, in the enjoyment of such 
magnificence, should envy Carradog a humble cottage in 
Britain." Agrippina, though from constitutional tempera- 
ment less sensual, was no less unprincipled than Messalina. 
She ruled her weak husband with a rod of iron. One day, 
when intoxicated, he imprudently declared that it was his 
fate to be tormented with bad wives, and to be their execu- 
tioner. The hint was sufficient for Agrippina. The emperor 
was particularly fond of mushrooms. She prepared with her 
own loving hands a dish for her dear spouse ; sprinkled some 
poison upon the delicious viand ; with smiles presented the 
repast to Claudius, and had the pleasure of seeing him fall in 
convulsions and die at her fbet. 

We have mentioned that Agrippina had a son, whose 
name was Nero. Who his father was, perhaps Agrippina 
herself could not tell. This lad, Claudius had adopted as his 
son and heir. Nero was but seventeen years old when hifl 
niother poisoned Claudius. He was highly educated, having 
been trained by the finest teachers the times could furnish. 
It has been said that the commencement of his reign was 
marked with clemency and justice ; but this period was so 
exceedingly short as scarcely to deserve notice. Influenced 
by his mother, all rivals who could endanger his sway, were 



TIBXBIITB OMBAU CALIGULA, AND OLAVDIITt. SIS 

speedflj put to death, by poison, the dagger, and the mystery 
of the dungeon. It is reported that the jonng Nero at firsl 
reluctantly consented to these assassinations. But all suoh 
scruples soon disappeared. 

Nero pronounced the funeral oration of Claudius. It was 
written, however, by Nero^s accomplished teacher, Seneca, 
and would have been an eloquent performance, had it not 
been so ridiculously untrue. When Nero touched upon the 
wisdom, forcfflght, and magnanimity of the imbecile brute, 
evBD the obsequious senate of Rome could not restrain itieK^ 
and the young, imperial orator, was astonished by a general 
burst of derifflye laughter. 

Nero bad early married a lady of iDustrious iMrth, named 
Octavia, whom 'he now treated with the grossest n^leot, 
she being supplanted by a beautiftd emancipated slave, named 
Aote, who was purchased in Asia. A very bitter quar* 
id soon sprang^ up between Nero and his mother. Agrip- 
pina was a woman of much ability. She had accumubted 
wealth which even rivaled the imperial treasury, and there 
was a large party ready to espouse her interests in any cod* 
flict with her son. Claudius had left a son, Britannicns, fomw 
leen years of age, and a daughter Octavia. Agrippina in her 
rage threatened tc drive Nero firom the thron) and plana 
BritanniouB upon kL 



CHAPTER XVII 

NERO. 
From a. d. 61 to a. d. 67 

BKWnN NSBO AVD BIB MOTHKB.— MlTBDSB OT BBRANVTODBb— ATTmrT «l 

MuBon AosippiNA.— Hkb Escapb.— Effxotual Plan fob hbb Mubdbb.— Bb- 
MABX OF Tacitttb. — Wab IK Bbitain. — HoBBiBLB Law OF Slatbbt. — Itb Ezaov* 
TiON. — Bkpuoiation AND Dbath OF Ootavia.— Thb Fbbtival. — Nero Sbtb Fni 
TO Bomb.~Thb Ohbistianb Falbblt Aooubbd.— Thbib PsBBBonnoN.— Thb In- 
BiTBBBonoN OF Galba.— Tbbbob OF NxBO.— Hb Oommtib Bvioidb.— Oalba Chobbv 
Empbbob.— Hm Abbasbination. 

IVTERO, alarmed lest his mother, with her boundless wealth, 
""•^ her influence, and her peculiar sagacity, might be able to 
wrest the scepter from him and place it in the hands of 
Britannicus, who, as the son of Claudius, had a more legitimate 
right to the throne than he had himself, plotted the death of 
Britannicus. In those days it was necessary for every con- 
spicuous man to guard incessantly, and with the utmost vigi- 
lance, against poison and the dagger. Neither princes nor 
their children, allowed themselves to partake of any food until 
it was first tasted by a special officer. A cup of drink, yet 
harmless, was presented to Britannicus by his taster, but so 
hot that he handed it back to be cooled. Cold water con- 
taining poison was then poured in. He drank, fell back in 
convulsions, and died in the arms of Agrippina, who, with 
Nero, was present. Nero reclined upon a sofa in apparent 
anconoem as the prince was struggling in the agonies of 
death, and remarked that he did not think that much was 
the matter with Britannicus, but that from childhood he had 
been accustomed to such fainting fits. The body of the 
poisoned prince was removed, and the festive banquet went 



NSBO. Sit 

on undiBtorbed. Agrippina nnderstood the matter ftdl well, 
but, with policy, affected to be deceived, and to regard the 
death of Britannicns as natural. The very night of hia 
murder, in a storm of wind and rain, the body of the mur- 
dered prince was burnt on a funeral pile in the Campus 
Martins. Such were the aohiei ements of a Roman emperor 
at the conmienoement of his reign, when but little more than 
seventeen years of age. There were then one hundred and 
fifty millions of people subjected to the despotism of this one 
monster. How strange the power of circumstances, which 
can confer upon one depraved, contemptible boy such unlim- 
ited dominion, and which can reduce so many millions to suoh 
utter helplessness ! 

The vast property of Britannicus was distributed by Nero 
among his ow« partisans, and thus their support was pur- 
chased. But Agrippina, in whose bosom maternal milk had 
been converted into venom, slowly, cautiously, determinedly 
prepared to wreak vengeance upon her detested son. She laid 
aside vast treasures, as the resources for bribery or war. She 
courted the friendship of able men, whoso codperation she hoped 
to enlist ; and held frequent conferences with them in secret. 
But the eye of Nero was sleeplessly upon her ; and though 
they both, in their social intercourse, affected the most cordial 
relations, and addressed each other with the most endearing 
epithets, neither of them was blind to the fact that they were 
engaged in a conflict of life or death. The mother and the 
son occupied palaces but a short distance from each other, 
and were each surrounded by numerous retainers, who offi- 
ciated as guards of honor. Nero, by his imperial power, 
withdrew from Agrippina her retainers, and she was left 
almost in the condition of a private lady. Fears of his fi*own 
prevented also any of the couiiiers from approaching her but 
inseoret. 

Nero was soon informed that his mother was plotting to 
effisct his assassination, and to place one RubeOiua Pkutus 



S18 ITALY. 

apon the throne, a relative of the deified AngosttiB. Nera^ 
who, like most guilty men, lived in a state of constant terror, 
was now anxious to secure as speedily as possible, the death 
of both his mother and Plautus. But Agrippina was too 
powerful to be stricken down by an open blow. Caution 
and cunning were requisite. The almost incredible story is 
related by the ancient historians, Tacitus repeating it after 
Cluvius and Rusticus, that Agrippina, in order to blind her 
son, would present herself before him, in the most wanton 
attire, when he was intoxicated, and would so inflame his pas- 
sions by kisses and caresses, as to lure him to incest ; and this 
so openly, that the matter was talked of freely throughout the 
palace and among the soldiers. 

All this time, and through all this unparalleled infamy, 
both mother and child were watching for an. opportunity to 
murder each other. The following ingenius plan, for the 
accomplishment of his end, was at length adopted by Nero. 
He had a vessel so constructed that by withdrawing a few 
bolts, at sea, it would easily fall to pieces. Agrippina was tc 
be enticed on board this ship for a pleasure voyage, and then 
was to be left to perish as if by the ordinary casualties of 
wind and wave. Assuming a very affectionate air he invited 
bis mother to accompany him to a festival at Baise, near Na- 
ples, on the sea shore. Taking her arm he conducted her to 
the beach, and showed her the beautiftd galley, richly deco- 
rated, which he had prepared expressly for her pleasure. 
There were many other regal barges floating upon the 
wave, but none which could compare with that devoted to 
Agrippina. It appears that the mother was quite deceived by 
her guileful son. A rich banquet was prepared, and after 
much feasting and merriment, during which Nero leaned upon 
the bosom of his mother very lovingly, he accompanied her 
to the shore, that she might embark in the treacherous barge 
for her country-seat at Antium, near Rome. Conducting hei 



VBBO. 819 

to her hunuioofl seat he kissed her affeoticnately and bale her 
adiea. 

It was then past midnight as the festival had been protract- 
ed to this late hour. The night was wonderfully fine, the 
stars shinning brilliantlj, and not a breese rippling the surface 
of the Mediterranean. Seamen manning the three banks of 
oars with lusty sinews, drove the barge over the glassy sea, 
when suddenly the canopy which overarched Agrippina fell 
with a fearful crash. It had been so loaded with lead that no 
doubt had been entertained that it would effect certain des- 
truction. The attendant who reclined at Agrippina's feet was 
instantly crushed, but one of the partitions fell in such a way 
as to protect Agrippina, though she was slightly wounded. 
The boat, howeveh, filled and sank, many perished, others 
escaped by swimmmg to the shore. The agents of Nero, on 
board, who had made provision for their own safety, supposed 
that they had effected their purpose, and that their victim, 
mangled, and enclosed in a winding sheet of lead was sunk to 
the bottom of the sea. 

But Agrippina, floating upon a part of the wreck had suffix 
dent fortitude and sagacity to keep sOent. In the early dawn 
she was picked up by a small boat and conveyed to her villa. 
Though she perfectly comprehended the treachery from which 
she had escaped, she shrewdly pretended to regard it all as an 
accident. She immediately dispatched a courier to inform her 
affectionate son that, through the mercy of the gods, she had 
escaped fearful peril, but entreating him not to be needlessly 
alarmed, as she had received but a slight wound, and would 
probably soon be quite restored. Nero was impatiently wai^ 
tng to receive the news that his mother had gone down to her 
watery tomb, when he was thunderstruck with the intelligence 
of this utter f^ure of the plot. He knew his mother too well 
to imagine that her eyes could be blinded to the stratagem 
firom which she had so wonderfully escaped, and he dombted 
not that the would immediately resort to some desperate mea- 



SSO ITALY. 

sure, in sel&defense, to secure his aBsasaination. His cnaif 
hope, then, was to strike a blow before his mother could strike 
the one she was doubtless premeditating. 

Immediately he summoned one of his most efficient parti- 
sans, in whose depravity and efficiency he could place reliance, 
ordered him to take a strong body of picked men, hasten to 
the villa of Agrippina, break into the room, cutting down all 
opposition, and kill her thorcughly. Anicetus, the executor 
of this order, with his band of assassins, was soon on the 
march. Unannounced and unexpected they burst into the 
villa. The slaves, and feeble guard fled in all directionB. It 
was midnight. Agrippina was in her chamber with but one 
maid, and a single lamp was dimly burning. Hearing the 
noise the maid fled. Agrippina, idarmed, raised her head 
from the pillow, when the assassins rusb^ in, and one blow 
fix)m a dub, upon her head, followed by thrusts of swords 
and javelins which pierced her body, dispatched her so eflect< 
nally, that Nero declared that the missi<»i was accomplished 
to his perfect satisfaction. 

There was a law enacted by the Roman slaveholders, that 
if any master should be murdered by a slave, every slave belong- 
ing to that household, male and female, young and old, should 
be put to death. The object of the law was to protect the life 
of the master, by rendering every member of his household 
responsible, with his life, for his master's safety. A slave in 
revenge for some injury which he had received from his mas- 
ter, Pedanius Secundus, struck him dead. The law doomed 
the whole family of slaves, four hundred in number to capital 
punishment. There were in this doomed household old men, 
babes, boys, and maidens. The deed was perpetrated by one 
man, maddened by outrage, and it was clear that all the rest 
were innocent. These slaves were not negroes, but men and 
women of the same blood with their master. 

The sympathies of the populace were excited in theif 
behalf, and with a spirit which was then deemed radical and 



VBBO. tfil 

flunalio, they appealed to a higJter law than that of the tTranta 
of Rome, to t^ie htw of immutable justice, and declared that 
these innocenf people ought not to be, and should not be 
beheadedl Hie question created great agitation, and there 
were indications of seditious resistance to the execution of 
the law. Even some of the senators espoused 'the popular 
cause, and declared the law to be inhuman, contrary to jus- 
tice, and that it ought not to be executed. 

The conservatist party, however, cried out vehemently 
against the fanaticism of this spirit of innovation. Tacitus 
has given us the speech of Caius Cassius, one of the slave- 
holding senators, demanding the execution of the law : 

^* When a man of consular rank,^' said Cassius, ^* has been 
murdered by his slaves, a crime which none prevented, none 
disclosed, what security can any man feel ! Are we to hunt 
up arguments against a decision of law, long since weighed 
and determined by our wiser ancestors? Do you believe 
that a slave could murder his master without one menace, one 
mcautious word betraying his design? Grant that he con- 
cealed his purpose, that secretly he obtained his weapon, 
could he pass the guard at the chamber door, and perpetrate 
the murder unknown to all ? Our ancestors regarded with 
suspicion even those slaves who were bom in their own 
houses, and who, from infancy, had partaken of their kind- 
ness. But we have slaves from various nations, with rites 
and customs differing from our own ; and it is impossible to 
curb such a rabble without the terms of law. Under this act, 
some who are innocent must doubtless perish with the guilty. 
But of a routed army, when every tenth man is struck down 
with a dub, the brave must fall as well as the cowards. 
£very great judicial warning involves somewhat of injustice 
to individuals, which is compensated by the general benefit.*' 

This reasoning carried the majority of the Roman senate, 
and it was decreed that the law must be executed; and though 
there were a few remonstrating voices, all these guiltless people 



ttt ITAI.T. 

were adjudged to death. But the popular heart was aroaaed 
Tumultuous throngs were assembled to rescue the condemned. 
Kero, espousing with all his energy the cause of what was 
then called the "law and order'* party, lined the streets of 
.Home with his armed legions, and with a guard of tro<^ 
conducted the whole band to their executicm. There is com- 
fort in the thought that there is another tribunal wheix: wtio 
oppressed will have a more impartial hearing. 

One wearies of the task of describing the individual assas- 
sinations which Nero perpetrated. Favorite after favorite, 
passing into disgrace, drank the poisoned cup, or was pierced 
by the dagger. His wife, Octavia, whose life was but a hn- 
£rering martyrdom, he repudiated, and th^i he married his 
concubine, PoppsBa. The maids of Octavia w^e put to the 
rack to compel them to accuse their mistress of crime as an 
excuse for the repudiation. But even all the intolerable 
agony of quivering nerves and crushed bones, could extort no 
evidence against Octavia. But Nero was resolved to put her 
to death. He called Anicetus, the assasab who had murdered 
Agrippina, and making him a magnificent present, requested 
him to swear that he had held adulterous intercourse with 
Octavia. The tool was pliant. 

The tyrant then in an edict announcing her guilt banished 
her to the island Pandataria. Here this unhappy princess, 
the daughter of the emperor Claudius, and both half sister 
^d wife of Nero, and sister of the assassinated Britannicus, 
but twenty years of age, was bound hand and foot, and her 
veins opened under every important joint in her body. As, 
through excess of terror it is stated, the blood coagulated 
and would not flow freely, she was placed in a vapor bath, 
very highly heated. She soon fainted and died, and her head 
was cut aS and carried to Poppsea to satisfy her that she had 
nothing more to fear from her rival Amazing as it may seem, 
the degraded Roman senate decreed thanksgiving to the godfl 
on account of the exeeution of Octavia* 



VBBO. 9f$ 

Taoitos desoribeB one of the festivals of Nero, in Rome, 
whioh he says he gives merely as a speoimen of all. Revolt- 
mg as the description is, we give it to show what were the 
morals of ancient Rome. This banquet in honor of tiie 
oniperor was given by Tigellinns * 

^He built,'' said Tacitus, '^ in the lake of Agrippa, a raft, 
which supported tiie banquet, it being moved to and fro, 
by other vessels drawing it after them. The vessels were 
striped with gold and ivory and were rowed by bands of 
pathic9 — ^beautiful boys devoted to the most infamous pur 
poses — who were ranged according to their age and aocom 
plishments in the science of debauchery. Upon the margin 
of the lake were brothels, fiUed with ladies of distinction. 
Over against them nude harlots were exposed to view. Now 
were beheld obscene gestures, and, as soon as darkness came 
on, all the neighboring groves and circumjacent dwellings re- 
sounded with music and glared with lights. Nero, wallowed 
in all sorts of defilements, lawful and unlawful ; and seemed 
to leave no atrocity which could add to his pollution, till a few 
days afterward he married, as a woman, one of his contami- 
nated herd of boys, named Pythagoras, with aU the solemni- 
ties of wedlock. The Roman emperor put on the nuptial 
vaU. The augurs, the portion, the bridal bed, the nuptial 
torches were all seen." 

One day some one repeated in conversation, in the pres- 
ence of Nero, the line, " When I am dead let fire devour the 
world." Nero replied, " It Aall be said, * When I am living, 
let fire devour the world.' " Rome then contained four mil 
fion of inhabitants, dwelling in very dose, narrow, .winding 
streets. Nero ordered his secret emissaries to fire the city 
wuile he, from a neighboring tower, watched the progress of 
tue flames. The buildings were mostly of wood, and the 
conflagration was such as this world had never witnessed 
before and has not seen since. It is said that Nero, during 
the oonflagration, in his private theater, played and sang the 



924 ITALY. 

^Destrnotion of Troy." The motives wfaioh led to tfufl 
diabolical deed were probably complex, including love of 
noydty and excitement ; a desire to behold the sublimity of 
the scene in which the dwellings of four millions of people 
were wrapt in flames — the dismay of the sufferers — th^ 
frantic endeavors to save life and property — ^and the pic- 
turesque exhibition of the millions of the homeless and the 
perishing, the aged, the sick, parents, children, matrons, 
maidens, wandering, wailing, dying in the fields. The pic- 
ture possessed rare attractions in Nero's eyes. The wail of 
eonc^itrated millions was music which but few mortals had 
been privileged to hear. It is also said that Nero wished to 
glorify himself by rebuilding the city on a scale of fer greater 
magnificence than before. It is estimated that the population 
of the whole Roman empire, at this time, was one hundred 
and fifty millions. By robbing these merdlessly, funds could 
easily be obtained, to rear a new Rome, which should be the 
pride of the world. 

For nine days and nights the fire raged with quenchless 
fury. Multitudes, which have never been counted, caught in 
the narrow streets, perished miserably in the flames. Tem- 
ples, libraries, palaces, priceless works of art, all were consum- 
ed. Of the fourteen sections of which Rome was composed, 
ten were left but a pile of smoldering ruins. The most 
extortionate taxes were levied immediately upon the provin- 
ces, and with the immense sum thus obtained Nero, commen* 
oed rebuilding the city. But the cry of millions plunged into 
poverty and misery could not be stifled. The tyrant, alarmed 
in view, of the execrations which rose loud and deep around 
his palace, and which the bristling spears of his petted guards 
could not exclude, endeavored to shield him s elf from obloquy 
by accusing the innocent Christians of the crime, and punisli- 
mg them with the most terrible severity. 

^^Not all the relief," writes Taoitus, ^^that could ooati 
from maxL ; not ail the bounties that the prince could boBtoWj 



VXBO. 186 

Mr aU tbe atonements which oould be presented to the gods, 
availed to relieve Nero from the infamy of being believed to 
have ordered the conflagration. Hence, to suppress the ru- 
mor, he fidsely charged with the guilt, and punished with the 
most exquisite tortures, the persons called Christians.'* 

Soon after the death of Christ, persecution in Judea scat* 
tefed the Jews all over the Roman empire. Christianity was 
probably thus carried to Rome. Paul was soon taken to the 
imperial city, a prisoner, in chains, and there, for two years, he 
preached the pure gospel of Jesus Christ, even in the palace 
of the CsBsars. A large and flourishing church was ere long 
established there, and on no page of holy writ does the light 
of inspiration beam more brightly, than in Paul's episde to the 
Romish church. The purity of the religion of Jesus Christ, 
denouncing in language the most impressive which inspiration 
oould frame, adultery, slavery, extortion-nledaring God to be 
the common Father of the whole human family, and that every 
man should see in his fellow-man a brother, whom he should 
r^ard with brotherly love; proclaiming that God looked with 
indignation upon idolatry, that He would avenge all wrong, 
and that a day was coming when all the world should stand 
at God's tribunal— emperor and slave on the same footing — and 
that every man should receive according to his deeds — such a 
religion, such doctrines, roused Nero, and his courtiers, and 
aD the nameless pollution of pagan Rome to a frenzy of rage. 

To crush this rising faith the most atrocious libels were 
6d)ricated. In&nts were taken to the church to be baptized. 
Pagan iJanderers affirmed that they were offered in bloody 
sacrifice. Wine was drank at the sacrament of the LordV 
bupper, and bread eaten in conmiemoration of our Saviour's 
broken body and shed blood. The pagans declared that the 
Christians, in midnight feasts, having murdered a man, ate his 
flesh, like cannibals, and drank his blood. Thus, a terrible 
prejudioe was created against the Christiana. Many believed 
I stories, who would, perhaps, have joined iie Christiaiif 



8S6 ITALY. 

had they known the truth. Tacitus, the renowned pagan hi0» 
torian, who seems to have been a man of much candor, and of 
much appreciation of right and wrong, was manifestly under 
the influence of these gross libels, for in the following terms 
he describes this first persecution of the Christians at Rome 
by Nero : 

" Christ, the founder of that name, was put to death as a 
criminal by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea, in the reign 
of Tiberius. But the pernicious superstition, repressed for a 
time, broke out agam, not only through Judea, where the 
mischief originated, but through the city of Rome also, 
whither all things horrible and disgraceM flow from all 
quarters, as to a common receptacle, and where they are 
encouraged. Accordingly, first those were seized who con- 
fessed that they were Christians. Next, on their information, 
a vast multitude were convicted, not so much on the charge 
of burning the dty, as oif hating the human race. And in 
their deaths they were also made the subjects of sport, for 
they were covered with the hides of wild beasts, and worried 
to death by dogs, or nailed to crosses, or set fire to, and when 
day declined, burned to serve for nocturnal lights. Nero 
offered his own gardens for that spectacle, and exhibited a 
circensian game, indiscriminately mingling with the common 
people in the habit of a charioteer, or else standing in his 
chariot. Whence a feeling of compassion rose toward the 
sufferers, though guilty and deserving to be made examples 
of by capital punishment, because they seemed not to be cut 
off for the public good, but victims to the ferocity of one 
man." 

It would seem that the whole Roman empire was plun- 
dered by Nero to obtain money to rebuild Rome. The 
temples were pillaged ; and the tax-gatherer, with his armed 
bands, penetrated the remotest provinces, not a nook even of 
Greece and remote Asia escaping his extortionate visits. But 
at length human nature could endure the monster no longer 



vBBo. as^ 



Senrinfl Galba» gorernor of Spain, a man of mc/dilativc, pen- 
aye mind, and of oonrage which no peril ooidd daunt, resolved 
at whatever hasard to rid the world of Nero. Disdaimng the 
mBidicus movements of the assassin, and believing that pab> 
lie indignation was ripe for revolt, he smnmoned his willing 
legions, declared war against Kero, and commenced a march 
upon Rome. 

The spark had fired the train. With electric speed the 
insurrection spread, outstripiung the forced marches of the 
UittaHons of Oalba ; and the tidings reached Rome, rousmg 
the whole city to oithusiasm, even before the tramp of the 
avenging army was heard upon the southern slopes of the 
Alps. Nero was seated at the supper table, with one of his 
boy concubines, dressed in womoi's robes, at his side, when 
at the same moment the intelligence of the march of Galba, 
and the insurrection in the streets, reached his ear. The 
brutal, cowardly monster was so struck with dismay, that he 
sprang from his seat so suddenly as to overturn the table, 
breaking two vases of immense value. He reat his clothes 
and beat his forehead, crying like a madman, " I am ruined. 
I am mined.'* 

He called for poison, but he had not even courage to do 
that weakest of all deeds— drink of the cup. He valiantly 
called for a dagger, looked at its sharp, glittering point, and, 
afraid of the prick, laid it aside. He rushed from the palace, 
heroically resolved to throw himself into the Tiber, but as 
soon as he saw the dark rolling tide, his resolution vanished, 
and he stopped. One of his companions urged that they 
should flee to his country-seat, about fom* miles from Rome, 
and conceal themselves. Nero, insane with terror, bare* 
headed, with his l<Hig locks floating in the wind, his clothes 
disordered, and covering his &ce with his handkerchief 
lei^d upon a horse, and with four attendants, through 
mnumerable perils, hearing every where around him the 
of the mnhztade, by whom he was not reoog- 



M8 ITALY. 

nized, gained his retreat. Just before reaching it, howei^er 
some alarm induced him to abandon his horse, and plmiged 
into a thicket by the road side, and through reeds and bram- 
bles, with torn clothes and lacerated flesh, he reached his 
transient, insecure asylum. 

The senate, in the meantime, had assembled, and embold- 
ened by the universal insurrection and by the approaching 
legions of Galba, pronounced Nero a tyrant, and doomed him 
to death, more majorum^ that is, according to ancient custom. 
The decree soon reached the ears of the trembling Nero. 

" What is it," he inquired, " to die more m^orum .?*' 

" It is," was the very unconsoling reply, " to be stripped 
naked, to have the head fastened in the pillory, and in that 
posture to be scourged to death." 

Nero had been highly amused in witnessing sufferings far 
more dreadful inflicted upon his innocent victims; but the 
idea of such a death for himself was any thing but amusing. 
Indeed, he was so horror-stricken, that he seized a dagger and 
pricked loSms^, But it hurt. So he laid the dagger aside 
and groaned. He then tried to talk himself into courage. 
"Ought Nero to be afraid?" he said. "Shall the emperor 
be a coward? No! let me die courageously." Again he 
grasped the dagger, looked at its point earnestly, but it was 
so sharp I Again ho laid it aside, and groaned in despair. 

Just then he heard the sound of horses' feet, and looking 
up saw, in the distance, soldiers approaching. In a few 
moments his retreat would be discovered, and he would be id 
their hands. There would then be no escape from the strip- 
ping, the pillory, and the scourge. In frenzy he entreated 
one of his servants, a freed man, to hold the dagger so that 
he might run his throat fiercely against it. This time he 
succeeded in severing an artery, and the blood gushed forth. 
He sank upon the floor just as the soldiers entered, and look- 
ing up to them with a malignant scowl, said, " You are too 
late," and died. There is a theory of false 7 3ligion whiob 



ITBBO. 8M 

mjs that there is no punishment in the fhtnre world ; and 
that the spirit of Nero ascended to heaven to be greeted with 
the words, from the lips of our heavenly Father, '^ Well done, 
good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy 
Lord.'* But the Bible assures us that " after death cometh 
the judgment.'* This is the only solution of such a oareer as 
that of Nero. This monster reigned thirteen years, and died 
in the thirty-second year of his age. 

Servius Galba, who had not yet reached Rome, was imm» 
diately proclaimed by the senate emperor. He was an old 
man, seventy-two years of age, and he was also childlesib 
Galba, conscious that it would require much time to effect a 
reform of the corruptions which pervaded the whole empire, 
and that he, already oppressed with the infirmities of age, had 
not long to live, adopted as his successor a young man of very 
noble character and rare virtue, Piso Ludanus. But a d» 
praved people do not wish for a virtuous sovereign. The 
Roman army, accustomed to plunder and to licentiousness, and 
to enormous bribery, though weary of the wanton cruelty of 
Nero, still wished for a leader who would gratify their lux- 
urious and lustful desires. 

A young man by the name of Otho, appealing to these 
eorrupt passions, formed a conspiracy in the encamped army 
of Galba. He ridiculed his severe discipline, the restraints he 
imposed, and his neglect to enrich the soldiers with plunder 
and bribes. He assured them that Piso would tread in the 
steps of Galba, and that the affectation of such " virtues," aa 
they were called, was absurd in such a world as this. Prob- 
ably earth has never witnessed a more diabolical band than 
was presented in a Roman urmy. The conspiracy ripened. 
The soldiers, at the appointed time, in a mass, raised the 
shout of revolt, lifted Otho upon their shoulders, and with 
the clashing of weapons and huzzas, declared Otho their 
emperor. The venom with which the virtuous Galba wai 



S80 ITALY. 

pursued, seems to have been as malignant as that which wae 
emptied upon Nero. 

A tumultuous band, with oaths and imprecations, rushed 
^o the tent of Galba. The heroic old man, conscious that no 
resistance would be of any avail, as the assassins burst into 
his tent, looked up calmly and said, " If you wish for my 
head, here it is. I am willing at any time to surrender it for 
the good of the people." The words were hardly uttered ere 
the heavy broadsword of a Roman soldier fell with its keen 
edge upon his neck, and his head rolled upon the floor of the 
tent. Another seized it by the hair, thrust a pike into the 
palpitating flesh, and, with shoutings of tumultuous thousands, 
the gory trophy was paraded through the camp. His body 
was kicked about, until one of his slaves dug a hole and 
buried it. Thus died Galba, after a reign of but three 
months. The senate, overawed by the army, and impotent, 
ratified the foul deed, and Otho was declared emperor. Such 
was the condition of Rome a. d. 67. 

It is supposed that the apostle Paul suffered martyrdom at 
Rome during the persecution under Nero. Chrysostom says 
that a cup-bearer and a concubine of Nero, through the 
preaching of the apostle, became converts to the religion of 
Jesus, and that this so enraged the tyrant, that Paul 
immediately beheaded. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

■ UPKAORS, GOOD AND BAD. 

Frou a. d. 67 to a. d. ISC. 

•ho A]n> Ymuins.— Thk OoicrLior.— Tm Tmnncpa or Ympasiax.— Tmm Drntrmom 
Jbbuiuiam.— Hb AoonuoK to thb Tmon^— -Suoomuon or DomriAir.— Adomv- 

MKMT OF THS CaPITOU — HiB DsPBATITT AND DiATB.— TbK CboWN GONKKKBHD 

OK NsBYA.— Teajak, AflsooiATB Empsbob.— Bbign ov Tbajan. — Hn OoLVMir.— 

GOBBMPOHSBNOB WITH PUHT.— COHQUBBTB OF TbAJAK.— RbIGN OF AOBIAN.— 

AnToiraruB Picb.«Hib Noblb Ohabaotbb.— Maboub AubbuuBw— Ybbus, hd Gol- 

IMAOm.— DlATH or AVBSLIITB. 

fYTKO was one of the parasites of Nero, having passed his 
" youth in the midst of the corruption and debauchery of 
the imperial palace. He had surrendered to Nero his very 
beautiiul and very infamous wife Poppwa, which wife, soon 
after died from a kick which she received from her regal 
spouse, just before she was about to give birth to a child. 
Otho had received, in exchange for his wife, the proconsulship 
of Lusitania, one of the provinces of Spain. He had squan- 
dered all his vast resources, and was hopelessly embarrassed 
by debt. 

There was, at that time, at the head of the Roman lemons 
on the banks of the Danube, a general by the name of Aulus 
Yitellius. He was descended from one of the most iUustrious 
fiunilies in Rome, and had received his education, in aU the 
iuzuries and vices of the times, in company with Tiberius Csb- 
sar, in his retreat at Caprese. Hearing of the death of Nero, 
immediately followed by the death of Galba, Yitellius secured, 
with large bribes and promises, the codperation of his army, 
and had himself proclaimed emperor, with all the military pa- 
rade of his camp. Otho and Yitellius were both instantly od 
the march to settle thdr claims on the field of battle. 



•82 ITALY. 

The armies, nearly seventy thousand strong on either side 
met on the plains of Lombardy, near Mantua. For a week 
they fought with prodigious slaughter, and with wavering 
success. At length Otho was hopelessly defeated, and accord- 
ingly he ran a sword through his heart, after a nominal reign 
of three months; and the exultant Vitellius advanced to Rome 
to assume the imperial purple. The obsequious senate prompt- 
ly declared him emperor, and he took up his residence in the 
palaces of the Csesars. Vitellius was neither cruel nor tyran- 
nical, in the ordinary meaning of those words; he merely 
surrendered himself to every possible degree of voluptuous- 
ness, and self-indulgence, thus securing for himself universal 
contempt. He even equaled Nero in debauchery. To have 
exceeded him, surpassed mortal powers. The expenses of his 
table for four months amounted to a simi equal to thirty mil- 
lions of dollars. 

There was but little to excite fear in the character of such 
an effeminate voluptuary ; and a conspiracy was soon in pro- 
gress for his overthrow. Vespasian, a Roman general who 
had acquired some renown in the wars in Germany and in Bri- 
tain, and who had been consul at Rome, was at this time in 
command of an army in Judea. He resolved with his soldiers 
to drive the usurper, of whom Rome was weary, from his 
throne. It was not diflScult for Vespasian to induce his sol- 
diers to proclaim him emperor. The conflict was short, but 
sanguinary. Though Vitellius displayed no energy, his gen- 
erals and his soldiers, in danger of losing the spoils of office, 
fought fiercely. But Vespasian, having sent able generals to 
Italy, was victorious, and Rome itself capitulated, after a 
bloody battle beneath its walls and through its streets, during 
which the beautiftil capitol, the pride of the city, was reduced 
to ashes. Vespasian still remained in the east, and Antony 
had command of the army sent against Rome. Vitellius was 
dragged from an obscure comer in the house of a slave, where 
he had hid kimse^, and was paraded through the streets, with 



AMPBBOBB, GOOD AND BAD. 8S8 

lufl hands bound behind him and a rope about his neck, until, 
after hours of ignominy and torture, he was beaten to death 
with the dubs of the soldiers. His body was then dragged 
over the pavements, and the mangled mass, having lost nearly 
aD semblance of humanity, was thrown into the Tiber. 

The senate now united with the army in declaring V espa> 
sian emperor. Vespasian was at this time at Alexandria, in 
Egypt. The Jews had rebelled agunst their Roman masters, 
and Vespasian was then organiang an army to besiege Jerusa- 
lem. His eldest son, Titus, was an exceedingly dissipated 
young man, who had been educated at the court of Nero, 
having been an intimate friend of the unfortunate prinoe Bri- 
tannicus. The emperor oitrusted the command of the army 
which was to march upon Jerusalem to this young man, while 
he proceeded to Rome to administer the government of the 
empire. Having a high reputation as a man of ability and 
integrity, he was received with great rejoicing by the Roman 
people. 

The raege of Jerusalem, and its destruction ▲. d. 70, is 
one of the most memorable events in the history of the world. 
Human nature, perhaps, has never before or since endured 
such woes. It is impossible for the imagination to concdve 
more appalling horrors, or sufferings more terrible than were 
then experienced. The reader will find these scenes of rage, 
despair, and woe minutely detailed by the pen of Josephus. 
The siege lasted six months. The city was entirely demolish- 
ed. In accordance with the prediction of our Saviour, not 
one stone was left upon another. The very foundations of 
Jerusalem were plowed up, so that even the ruins of the 
fnty could hardly be found. A million of Jews perished in 
the siege, and one hundred thousand taken captive were sold 
into slavery. All Judea was thus brought into perfect and 
unresisting submission to the conqueror. 

l^tus, with the spoil of Jerusalem, and his long train of 
aaptives, returned in triumph to Rome. In commemoration 



334 ITALY. 

of this great victory, a triumphal arch was erected, which 
remains, almost perfect, to the present day. Vespasian proved 
one of the best of the Roman emperors. He devoted himself 
with great energy and sagacity to the public weal, and after a 
reign of ten years, died respected and beloved. Feelmg that 
his end was approaching, he said, ^'An emperor should die 
standing ;" and aided by his fnends he rose from his couch 
and expired, sustained by their arms. Vespasian reared the 
gigantic amphitheater, called the Coliseum, the ruins of which 
still attract the wonder and admiration of the world. It fur- 
nished seats for eighty thousand spectators, and standing room 
for twenty thousand more. 

Titus succeeded his father. His character had undergone 
a wonderful and most salutary change. Abandoning all the 
vicious practices of his youth, he became distinguished as the 
exemplar of virtue and the guardian of Hberty. With almost 
unexampled self-devotion, he engaged in the work of doing 
good. His memorable saying, Perdidi diem^ " I have lost a 
day," when one day had passed in which no opportunity had 
occurred of doing good, is characteristic of his disposition 
and his habits. Beautifully has the sentiment been versified 
in the words : 

** Ooxait that day lost, whose low deBcending sun 
Views at thy haad no worthy action done." 

It was during the reign of Titus, a. d. 79, that the cities 
of Herculaneum and Pompeii were buried beneath the lava 
and ashes of Vesuvius. After being lost sixteen hundred 
years, they were discovered in the beginning of the last cen- 
tury. These cities, thus wonderfully brought to light, reveal 
much of the social habits and customs of that day. The re- 
nowned general Agricola, during the reign of Titus, was very 
efficient in promoting the civilization of the barbarous natives 
of Britain. He introduced the Roman modes of dress and 
living, encouraged education, and promoted a taste for the 
fine arts. 



VMPBB0B8, GOOD AND BAD. 385 

The feign of Titus was short. He had a brother Domi- 
lisn, a man of utterly depraved nature, who was eager to 
grasp the scepter. It is supposed that he poisoned Titus, for 
the emperor was suddenly seized with a violent and strange 
sickness, which speedily caused his death, in the forty-first 
year of his age, after a reign of but about two years 

Domitian ascended the throne which he had purchased by 
the murder of his brother. His character was a compound 
of imbecility, foUy, jealousy, and ambition. Jealous of the 
renown Agricola was acquiring, in conflict with the barbarians 
of Britain, he caused him to be poisoned, as is generally sup- 
posed. His conduct exposed him to universal ridicule and 
contempt. Wishing to enjoy a triumphal entrance into Rome, 
he dressed a large number of slaves to grace his triumph, as 
if they had been captives taken in war. He had gold and 
silver statues of himself placed in every conspicuous position ; 
and assuming divine honors, required that all men should ad- 
dress him with the titles they gave to the Deity. Those 
whom he deemed his enemies were mercilessly punished 
with death, accompanied with all conceivable tortures. The 
slightest suspicion led to condemnation. Upon the Christians 
he wreaked vengeance, undiscriminating and pitiless. Ambi- 
tious of fame he rebuilt, with wonderfiil splendor, the capitol, 
which was burnt during the war between Vitellius and Vespa- 
sian. Th^ gilding, alone, of the capitol, cost over twelve 
millions of our money. The profusion of his expenditure 
was such, that Martial says, in one of his epigrams, " If the 
emperor had called in all his debts, Jupiter himself, even 
though he had made a general auction of Olympus, would 
have been unable to pay two shillings in the pound." 

The tyrant was accustomed to write down, in a pocket- 
tablet, the names of those he intended to destroy. His infa* 
mous wife, Domitia, accidentally got a peep at the tablet, 
while hei husband was sleeping, and, to her consternation, 
found hef own name, with that of others, in the fatal list. She 



38(1 ITALY. 

imme^^tely inforraed those who were doomed to die with 
her. A snocessful conspiracy was instantly entered into, and 
the thrust of a dagger from one of the doomed men, rid the 
world of the monster Domitian. In his character not a I'e- 
deeming trsdt could be found to mitigate the enormity of hia 
depravity. 

The tidings of the death of Domitian was hailed^ through- 
out Rome, with universal acclaim. His statues were demol 
ished, the inscriptions he had cut erased ; and his memory 
was consigned to infamy. The senate, apprehensive that the 
army might anticipate them in the choice of a successor, on 
the very day of the tyrant's death, conferred the imperial 
purple upon Nerva, a venerable and virtuous old man of sixty- 
five, but of no force of character. Upon coming to the throne 
he took an oath that no senator during his reign should be 
punished with death, whatever his crime. He recalled all the 
Christians who had been driven from Rome by the persecu- 
tion of Nero. The army did not hke this humane sovereign, 
and conspired for his overthrow. 

The emperor, not knowing how to deal with difficulties so 
stubborn, and finding the cares of government too heavy for 
him to bear, summoned to his aid, as a copartner upon the 
throne, Trajan, a general of much renown, then in conmiand 
of an army upon the Danube. Nerva had hardly taken this 
mfiportant step, ere he suddenly died, after an eventful reign 
of but little more than a year. Trajan assumed the scepter. 

The Dacians had been for some time in the habit of cross- 
ing the Danube and making destructive inroads upon the 
Roman empire. Domitian, lost in luxury, devoted but littlr 
thought to the protection of his frontiers. Trajan raised a 
powerful army, marched into Dacia, conquered the barbarians 
in a decisive battle, and compelled the humiliated king to 
acknowledge himself a vassal of the Roman empire. But 
Trajan had hardly returned to Rome, ere the Dadans were 
again in revolt. Again the emperor turned upon his foes. 



BMPBBOB8, 0OO]> AND BAD. $3T 

That Dacia might be more accessible to his armies and thns 
more easily kept in subjection, he constructed a bridge across 
the Danube. This stupendous structure consisted of twenty- 
two arches. The ruins, which still remain, testify to the 
amazing skill of the Roman architects. The Dacians fought 
with great courage and military prowess, but after a conflict 
of five years they were effectually subdued, and a new pro- 
vince, thirteen hundred miles in circumference, became an 
integral part of the Roman empire. The vestiges of the 
military road trod by these legions, from the banks of the 
Danube through the heart of Dacia even to Bender, on the 
river Dneister, may still be traced. 

The conquest was deemed so important, that a magnificent 
oolumn was raised, to commemorate it. This column, one 
hundred and eighteen feet in height, and surmounted by the 
statue of the emperor, was entwined by a spiral belt, upon 
which were sculptured all the principal events of the expedi- 
tion. The shaft still stands, one of the most admired works 
of art in the world. Napoleon adopted it as the model of 
the world-renowned column, reared to bis honor, or rather, 
to the honor of his army, in theHace Vendome. 

Trajan did not look with a friendly eye upon the rapid 
advances which Christianity was making throughout the 
empire. The spirit of Christianity prohibited war, and Trajan 
was emulous of military glory. Christianity forbade unlaw- 
fbl sensual indulgence, and Trajan was a voluptuary. Still he 
was a kind hearted man, naturally humane, and he had but 
littile heart zealously to persecute those whose innocence and 
purity of life could not but command his respect. 

Trajan had appointed Pliny, a nephew of the illustrious 
philosopher of the same name, as governor of the province of 
Pontus, in Asia Minor. There were very many Christians m 
that region, and as many severe edicts had been issued in 
Rome against them, which it was the duty of Pliny to see 

16 



ITALY. 

executed, and as his humane sjpmt revolted against such 
cmelty, as needless and impolitic, he was perplexed, and 
wrote to the emperor for instmctions. Pliny^s letter wa0 
written about a. d. 106. 

Trajan in bis reply says : 

" You have done perfectly right, my dear Pliny, in the in- 
quiry you have made concerning Christians. For, truly, uo 
one general rule can be laid down which will apply itself to all 
oases. They must not be sought after. If they are brought 
before you and convicted, let them be capitally punished, yet 
with this restriction, that if any renounce Christianity, and 
evidence his sincerity by supplicating our gods, however sus- 
pected he may be for the past, he shall obtain pardon for the 
foture, on his repentance. But anonymous libels in no case 
ought to be attended to ; for the precedent would be of the 
worst sort, and perfectly incongruous to the maxims of my 
government." 

Animated by the love of conquest, and that renown which 
conquest brings, Trajan, in imitation of Alexander, conmienced 
a march of invasion through the barbarous and littie known 
nations of the East. He placed himself at the head of his 
troops, lamenting that he was so far advanced in life that he 
could hardly hope to eclipse the renown of the great Grecian 
conqueror. Traversing the whole extent of Asia Minor, he 
crossed the Euphrates, and, in an uninterrupted career of con- 
quest, advanced to the Tigris. Leaving subjugated nations 
behind him, the announcement of whose names excited the 
wonder and admiration of ambitious Rome, he descended even 
to the Persian gulf. Here, building a fleet, he embarked his 
army, and ravaged the coasts of Arabia, compelling all the 
kings of those regions to confess themselves as vassals of the 
empire. He was preparing to follow the route of Alexander, 
and to extend his conquests to the remote Indies, when death, 
that sovereign whom even a Roman emperor must obey, sum- 
moned him to the spirit land. The approach of the king of 




GENERAL GIUSEPPE GAKitiALDl 



Jtao 



BMPEBOB8, GOOD AND BAD. 8M 

lerrorB led Ti*ajan to endeavor to reaoh his home in Rome, be- 
fore he should die. With failing heart he left the army, and 
tamed to retrace his steps. But death was inexorable, and 
the emperor had but reached Cilicia when he died, m the sixty- 
fourth year of his age, after a reign of nineteen years. 

When Trajan left his triumphant army, on the shores of the 
Persian gulf, he intrusted its command to his nephew Adrian, 
who had been his companion in many wars, and was a man of 
much military renown. The army proclaimed him emperor, 
and Rome accepted the appointment. He had the virtues and 
the vices of a kind-hearted pagan, being affable to his Mends, 
constitutionally humane, but a perfect demon when his pas- 
sions were aroused. Conscious of the feeble grasp with whidi 
the empire held' its barbarian conquests beyond the Danube, 
and beyond the Euphrates, he wished to^ contract the limits of 
the empire, and to consolidate his power. The stupendous 
bridge which Trajan had constructed across the Danube, 
Adrian destroyed, lest it should &«ilitate the incursions of 
the barbarians. 

With a splendid retinue, Adrian undertook to visit all the 
provinces of his empire. He entered Gaul ; thence proceeded 
to Germany, Holland, and Britain. During this visit, he or- 
dered the construction of that famous wall, the ruins of whiA 
are still visible, from the Solway Firth to the mouth of the 
Tyne, to protect the Roman territory from the incursions of 
the barbaric Picts and Caledonians. He returned to Rome 
through Spain, and after tarrying a short time in the capital, 
visited Greece, Asia Minor, and Palestine. Wherever he 
went, he reformed abuses, and encouraged improvements. At 
Athens he was so favorably impressed with what he learned 
respecting Christians, that he endeavored to discourage perse- 
cution, and wished to recognize Christianity, and to give Christ 
a niche in the temple with all the other gods. 

Prom Greece and Syria, Adrian passed over to AMeit 
Among other g^reat and salutary enterprises he ordered OU^ 



840 ITALT 

ihage to be rebuilt, giving the new city the name of Adriaa- 
ople. But a few fishermen's hnts, at that time occupied the 
site of a city which had contained seven hundred thousand in- 
habitants. Returning to Rome, he again resumed his journey, 
and passing through Greece, Asia Minor, and Syria, visited Ara- 
bia and Egypt. No monarch, before or since, has had such an 
empire under his sway. At Alexandria he repaired Pompey's 
tomb, that had fallen into ruins. In Palestine he ordered the re- 
building of Jerusalem. The Jews engaged in the work with 
their customary ardor, and, elated with hopes that God had 
interposed in their behalf, and that the day of their deliver- 
ance had come, they rose in insurrection. The terrible ener- 
gies of the Roman empire were turned against them. After 
one thousand of their chief towns had been destroyed, and six 
hundred thousand of their inhabitants had perished on the 
field of battle, the Jews were again chastised into suUen sub- 
mission. 

Adrian was one of the most highly accomplished men in 
the Roman empire, alike remarkable for personal beauty, intel- 
lectual culture, and polished manners. Many anecdotes are 
related illustrative of his humanity and moderation. But his 
ungovernable passions at times deprived him of all self-control, 
and in the delirium of his anger he at times perpetrated deeds 
of great cruelty. Social purity was a virtue almost unknown 
in pagan Rome. The court and the camp of Adrian exhib^ 
ited a harem of unblushing vice. He was, from youth, 
celebrated for his fine scholarship, and his memory was so 
extraordinary, that having once read a book he could immedi- 
ately repeat the whole. It is also reported that he could call 
every soldier in his army by name. The temple of Olympian 
Jupiter, in Athens, commenced five hundred years before, was 
finished by Adrian. 

After thirteen years spent in these useful travels, Adrian 
returned to Rome an infirm old man. The cruelty of the 
dave codt he mitigated very essentially. With insatiable 



SMPBB0B8, GOOD AND BAD. S4i 

tftiivt for information, and a very high appreciation of all intel- 
lectual eminence, he courted the society of all the celebrated 
men in literature, science, and art. But disease was making 
rapid inroads upon his frame, and his sufferings, at times, were 
so great that he frequently was heard to exclaim, ^^ How mis- 
erable a thing it is to seek death and not to find it." Upon 
hb couch of pain and death he wrote the following touohing 
lines: 

**ADiiDQla, Tagola, blanduUL 

Hospes oomesque corporis 

Qasd nunc abibis in locai 

Femidola, rigida, nodola? 

Nec^ Qt 8olefl| dabia joooa" 

Prior has^n^eavored to translate or imitate this stanza in 
the following lines, which but feebly express the spirit of the 
original: 

*'Poor little, pretty, flattering thing, 

Most we no longer live together; 
And dost thou plume thj tremUing vrixig, 

To take thy flight, thou knowest not wbttherf 
Thy humorous yein, thy pleasing folly, 

Lie all neglected, all forgot; 
And pensive, wavering, melancholy, 

Thou dread*8t| and hop'st thou know'st not what?* 

It is said that he died, in the sixty-second year of his age, 
repeating the above words, so illnstrative of the gloom which 
must have ever darkened the last hours of a reflective pagan. 
His prosperous reign had continued nearly twenty-two years. 
Adrian, who had no son, was anxious to transmit the empire to 
one worthy of the imperial bequest. There was a senator by 
the name of Titus Antoninus, a man of about fifty years of 
age, of such unblemished integrity and purity of morals, as to 
secure the foil confidence of the sagacious emperor. The peo- 
ple, in honor of his virtues, sumamed him Pious. For this 
man Adrian cherished the highest esteem. But there was a 
beautiful boy in the court, but seventeen years of age, one 
Marcus Aurelius, whose singular fascination of character and 



S49 ITALY. 

aianners had won the affection of the emperor. Adrian loved 
the boy as if he had been his own child, and yet his sense of 
propriety would not allow him to place the destinies of pep 
haps one hmidred and fifty millions of people in the hands of 
one so youthful, and whose character was, as yet, so immature 
and untried. He, therefore, compromised the matter and ap- 
pointed Antoninus his successor, with the condition that he 
should adopt Marcus as his son, and transmit to him the 
crown. 

Antoninus was true to his trust, and immediately adopting 
Marcus, bound him to his family, by marriage with his daugh- 
ter Faustina. The father associated the adopted son so intim- 
ately with him in the government of the empire, that history 
usually speaks of their united reigns. The Roman empire 
had never before been so well governed, and never before had 
been so prosperous and happy as under the reign of these 
excellent men ; proving that the happiness of a people depends 
£eu* more upon the character of the rulers than upon the form 
of government ; and proving, also, that the only effectual way 
of ameliorating the condition of the human ^imily is by the 
regeneration of human hearts. 

Antoninus nobly protected the Christians, issuing a decree 
that ^' if any one shall for the future molest the Christians, and 
accuse them merely on account of their religion, let the person 
who is arraigned be discharged, though he is found to be a 
Christian, and the accuser be punished according to the r?gor 
of the law." 

He often quoted the beautiftil words of Scipio: "I had 
rather preserve the life of a citizen than destroy a thousand 
enemies." 

The remains of a wall are still traced, which he reared to 
protect the Britons from the incursions of the Picts and Scots. 
After a reign of about twenty-one years, he died at the age 
of seventy-four, a. d. 161. The senate reared a column to hii 
memory, which still stands, and it has been well said of him 



BMPBBOBSy GOOD AHC BAD. 94S 

**He is almost the only monarch that has lived without spilling 
the blood of his oountrymen or his enemies.'' 

The death of Antoninus left Marcus Aurelius, who, from 
nis adoption, had also taken the name of Antoninus, in sole 
occupancy of the throne. Imitating Pious, whose memory 
tie revered, he adopted a young noble by the name of Yerus, 
as his partner on the throne. But the adoption proved ex- 
ceedingly unfortunate ; for Yerus developed almost every vice, 
unredeemed by any virtue. It so happened that iust at this 
time the Parthians made a very fierce, desolating, and san- 
guinary irruption into Syria. Yerus marched with an army 
to punish them, while Marcus Aurelius remained in Rome, to 
attend to the general administration of the empire. Yerus, 
however, having advanced as far as Antioch, committed the 
army to his generals, while he remained there in his metro* 
politan palace, indulging in every possible excess of volup- 
tuousness and debauchery, where he soon died. 

Aurelius, relieved from the embarrassment which the con- 
duct of his vicious and imbecile colleague had ever caused, 
now, with renewed vigor, assailed the multitudinous foes 
which had risen up against the empire, and crushed them alL 
One of the legions of his army, consisting of between four 
and six thousand men, was composed entirely of Christians. 
The fact is attested by both Christian and heathen writers, that 
on the eve of an engagement on an arid plain, when the army 
of Aurelius was perishing with thirst, a terrible tempest arose, 
and amid flashes of lightning and peals of thunder, the r^ 
freshing rain in floods fell upon the Roman camp, which the 
soldiers caught in their helmets, thus obtaining an abundant 
supply, while at the same time a terrible storm of hail fell 
upon the barbarian camp, throwing them into such confusion 
that they were easily routed and cut to pieces. 

Marcus Aurelius was so impressed with this apparent 
miracle, which he regarded as an interposition in his behalf 
by the Christian's God, that he issued a decree prohibiting 



844 IT ALT. 

fhriher persecntion, and wrote to the senate in their favor. 
Independently of his rank, Aurelius was in character and 
acquirements a distinguished man. Many of his philosophical 
and humane sayings are still quoted, and renudns of Lis writ- 
ings, which are still read with interest, give him a high posi- 
tion among the classic writers of antiquity. While devoting 
himself with untiring diligence to the welfare of his subjects, 
even giving popular lectures to the masses of the people in 
Rome, upon all matters pertaining to their domestic welfare, 
tidings came that the Russian Tartars were invading the 
empire. The emperor grasped his sword, and having reached 
Vienna, in this his last campaign, was seized by the plague, 
and suddenly died about the year 180, in ihe fifty-ninth year 
year of his age» and the nineteenth of his teign. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

COMHENOEMENT OF THE DEGLINB AND FAIL. 

Fbox a. sl 180 to a. a 236. 

Maboob AvmBuirs— PBAonoAL Piiiu>«oraT.— CoMaioDim.— Hn Pbatil—Oo iim— i» i 

■KMT or TBS DSOUNS AMD FaLL.— Th> PkSTOBIAK OVABD.— In GHAmAOTBB AJn 

iNrLUXMOK.— Thb Throns Sold at Auction.— ^vli an.— Thb Bital Empkbom.-- 
Tbhtxph or SNTOira.— Hb PBBnoT.^BsieN or OAmAOALLA and Ora.— M vbdsb 
ar Gnta.— AaaAMiNATioN or Gasaoalla. — MA0BiNva.^Hi8 Shokt Buon anb 

DSATB. ~~ BLAOABALOB. — BoTH PONTOT AND EmPBBOB.— HB EmAOBDINABT 

DspBATiTTd— Anbodotbb or Mazuun. 

A LL writers unite in the praises of Marons Aarelius, the 
-^^ second of the Antonines, as he is sometimes called. Still 
he displayed one trait of character which has ever given occa< 
sion for perplexing comment. His wife, Faustina, beautiful, 
fascinating, and sensual to the highest degree, was notorious 
and unblushing in her amours. She affected no concealment. 
Reyeling with the gay voluptuaries of the court in the most 
luxurious and wanton dissoluteness, she left her philosophic 
and phlegmatic husband to the meditations of his study and 
the schemes of his cabinet. 

Marcus Aurelius seemed to be the only man in the empire 
who was utterly indifferent to this libidinousness of his spouse. 
Avowing himself a disciple of Zeno the stoic, and in his re- 
nowned "Meditations" advocating that philosophy, which 
renders it essential to virtue that one should be indifferent, so 
far as his inward happiness is concerned, to all external things, 
Aurelius did not allow the shameless conduct of his wife to 
disturb his serenity in the slightest degree. On the contrary, 
the more gross her crimes the more he lavished upon her 
caresses, endearing epithets, and titles of honor. Even her 

16* 



846 ITAI.T 

overs he sought out and loaded with &yors, giving them 
conspicuous posts of trust and emolument. 

During a connection of thirty years, Aurelius was unin 
termitting in the tenderness of his attentions to his dissolute 
wife. He lost no opportunity of manifesting respect for her 
in public. He caused a decree to be issued, proclaiming her 
'^ Mother of the Camps and Armies.'' All Rome smiled to 
read in the " Meditations " of their revered emperor the ex- 
pression of his thanks to the gods for having conferred upon 
him a wife so faithful, so gentle, and of such wonderful sim- 
plicity of manners. The senate at the earnest request of the 
emperor, declared her to be a goddess, temples were erected 
for her worship, and she was invested with the attributes of 
Juno, Venus, and Ceres. 3 

This same weakness of character was indicated by the 
manner in which his son Conmiodus was educated. Unre- 
strained by his father, and incited by the example of his 
mother, he grew up a monster of depravity. Commodus was 
nineteen years of age at the time of his father's death. The 
virtues of Aurelius secured for him easy accession to the 
throne, and he was promptly recognized by the army, the 
senate, and all the provinces. He was a burly, beastly man, 
of huge frame and of such herculean strength, that he often 
appeared, in theatrical exhibitions, in the character of Her- 
cules, dressed in a lion's skin and armed with a club. 

The atrocities of Commodus can never be described. Civ- 
ilization would tear out and trample under foot the page 
containing the abominable recital. Nothing can be conceived 
of in the way of loathsome, brutal, fiend-like vice, and cruelty 
oi which he was not guilty. He filled his palace with de- 
bauchery, ransacked the brothels of Rome, compelled his 
sisters to yield to his incestuous love, and killed one of them, 
LuciUa, for venturing to repel him. He amused himself with 
cutting off people's lips and noses. The rich were slain for 
their money ; the influential and powerful from jealousy, and 



OOMMBKCBMBNT OF THB DBOLINB AKD FALL. S4f 

fhe fnends of the slain were also dispatched lest they should 
marmar and excite discontent. At length one of his ooncn- 
hines, named Marcia, apprehensive that she was doomed to death 
by the tyrant, presented him with a goblet of poisoned wine. 

Commodus drank freely, and almost immediately fell into 
heavy slmnbers. But soon deadly sickness and vomiting en- 
sued. Mai'cia, who had enlisted others in her enterprise, fear- 
fiil that he might escape the effects of the poison, sent a young 
gladiator into the room to finish the deed with the dagger. 
Commodus, stupefied and weakened by the drug, was probably 
easily despatched. The conspirators, exulting in their achieve- 
ment, and conscious that the t3rrant could find no competitor, 
resolved to fill the vacant throne with one whose avenger 
would secure the support of the army, the senate, and the 
people. 

Helvius Pertinaz, the prefect or governor of Rome, had 
risen from lowly birth to senatorial dignity and consular rank. 
He had filled many of the first offices of the state, and all with 
much honor to himself. At a late hour of the night, the con- 
spirators rushed into his apartment to offer him the crown. 
With great reluctance Pertinax accepted, at their hands, the 
imperial purple. He was inmiediately conducted to the camp, 
while a report was circulated through the city that Commodus 
fkad died of apoplexy. The people and the army, with joyful 
acclaim, accepted the new emperor, and conducted him to the 
senate-house. The senators had been suddenly convened. It 
was in the early dawn of the morning of the first of January, 
▲.D. 193. In great consternation they had assembled, fearing 
that the summons would prove but some new trick of the 
tyrant. When assured that Commodus was no more, their 
joy surpassed all bounds. Decrees were passed consigning the 
memory of Conmiodus to infamy, and Pertinax was invested 
with imperial title and power. 

From the reign of Commodus is generally dated the begin* 
^Ing of the dedine and ML of the Roman empire. Here, Gik 



•48 ITALY. 

bon commences his renowned history. Pertinax immediately 
Altered upon vigorous measures of reform. His domestic es- 
tablishment was arranged on a very economical scale ; exiles 
were recalled, prison-doors thrown open, and confiscated es- 
tates restored. The bodies of victims, illustrious in rank, 
which had been thrown into ignominious graves, were con* 
signed to honorable sepulture, and all possible consolat'ons 
were bestowed upon ruined families. 

The extortions of Commodus had been boundless, the whole 
empire having been taxed to its utmost point of endurance to 
minister to his limitless luxury. Though the treasury was ut- 
terly exhausted, so that Pertinax commenced his reign with an 
empty purse, and at a time when the support of the army, 
which was absolutely essential, could only be secured by lav- 
ishing gold upon the legions with a profuse hand, he nobly 
rranitted all the oppressive taxes imposed by Commodus, de- 
claring in a decree of the senate, ** that he was better satisfied 
to administer a poor vepublio with innocence, than to acquire 
riches by the way of tyranny and dishonor." 

The instruments of luxurious indulgence which the tyrant 
had accumulated, gold and silver plate, chariots of curious oon- 
struction and enormous cost, robes of imperial dye and heavily 
embroidered with gems and gold, and last, and yet most wor- 
ldly of note, as indicative of the barbarism of the times, a large 
number of beautiful slaves, both boys and girls, whom Com- 
modus, in his depravity, had assembled in his harem, alike to 
minister to his lust, were sold, and the proceeds placed in the 
exhausted treasury. It is said that there were three hundred 
of each sex whom the monster had thus collected, and many 
of these were children of tender years, who had been bom in a 
state of freedom, and had been torn from the arms of their 
weeping parents. The free-bom were set at liberty ; the others 
though of the same race, were lefl in bondage. 

These reforms, so salutary to the state, were all hateful to 
Ihe corrupt soldiery. Tbey loved war, and rapine, and lioenae 



OOMMBirOlEMENT OF THB DBCLINB AND FALL. M9 

-4he plunder of proyinoes, the gcMen bribes of their officers, 
Ae possession of oaptive matrons and maidenB. The brutal 
men had found in Commodns the leader they desired. Tlie 
inst administration of Pertinax excited thdr indignation and 
contempt. Murmurs deep and loud rose from the Pretorian 
guard. Three hundred of them in a body, and iti open day, 
manned to the palace, entered unresisted, dispatched Pertinax 
with swords and jayelins, and parading his gory head upon a 
lance, marched triumphantly through the streets back to their 
barracks. The citizens of Rome looked on in dismay and sub- 
mission. It was not safe for any one to utter a word against 
the army. One hundred thousand soldiers, well armed and 
drilled, are deemed amply soffident to hold in subjection tea 
millions of unarmed people. The establishment of a standing 
army, and the disarming of the militia, places any nation at the 
mercy of a successful generaL 

The Pretorian guard amounted to but sixteen thousand 
men, organized in sixteen cohorts. These renowned Pretorian 
bands, in the highest state of discipline, were assembled in a 
permanent camp, just outside the walls of Rome, on the broad 
summit of the Quirinal and Viminal hills. The remains of their 
Kne of ramparts, it is supposed, may still be traced. These helm- 
ed troops overawed the four millions of Rome ; and, through 
the subject senate, and the stiU more servile populaoe of the 
metropolis, held the mastery of an empire of one hundi^ and 
fifty millions. 

The soldiers, in th&r intrenched camp^ rallying around 
the head of Pertinax, the hideous trophy of their power, per- 
petrated the memorable scandal of selling the throne, at auc- 
tion, to the highest bidder. They felt safe in taking the bids, 
for if any one failed to pay the proffered price, the soldiers 
bad, as it was well known, a very short and decisive way of 
settling the account. Rome had indeed now fallen ; for the 
emperor had become but the prow of the national ship, while 
like soldiers manned the oars, and held the rudder* 



900 ITAL\ , 

Tliere were two bidders for the imperial purple. It is a 
fiingalar comment upon the morals of that age, that the first 
bidder was Sulpidanos, governor of Rome, and son-in-law of 
Pertinaz. Alarmed by the mutiny he had hastened in his 
official capacity to the camp ; but he immediately forgot the 
murder of his father, in eager graspings for the crown which 
had fallen from that mangled brow. Sulpicianus offered a 
sum, amounting to about eight hundred dollars of our money, 
to each man of the guard. A senator, Didius Julianus, the 
richest man id Rome, incited by the ambition of his wife and 
daughter, offered a thousand dollars to each man. ^' More- 
over," said he, " you wiU not have to wait for me to collect it 
from taxes, for I can pay you immediately, as I have the 
money at home." 

^' Going, going, gone I " The Roman empire was struck 
off to Julian. The soldiers reared an altar in the camp, placed 
Julian upon it, and took the oath of obedience. Then the 
whole band, in close order of battle, with their new emperor 
enclosed la the center of their ranks, descended from their 
encampment and entered the streets of Rome. The motley 
crowd from all nations, which then thronged the capital, were 
doubtless but little conscious of the degradation. To them it 
was but another gala day. It is to be presumed that ladies 
smiled from the balconies, waved their scarfs, and sprinkled 
the pavements with flowers, as the gorgeous procession passed 
along, with glittering helmets, shields, and spears, with silken 
banners floating in the breeze, and with music from a hundred 
bands. 

The soldiers had summoned an assembly of the senate. 
The newly appointed emperor presented himself to receive 
the confirmation of that docile body, and had the good sense 
simply to say : 

" Fathers, you want an emperor. I am the proper person 
for you to choose." 

There were sixteen thousand arguments, in the shape of 



OOMIISKCSMSKT OF THS BBOLIKB AND PALL, ttl 

axteen thousand swords, to sustain this simplo proposition. 
Julian was confirmed with oniversal aocUum. The soldiers 
then, in trinmphal march, conducted him to the palace. The 
decapitated body of Pertinax had not yet been removed^ and 
the supper was still upon the table, at which the emperor waa 
just about to sit down, when his assassins burst in upon him. 
TbeRe sights must have been suggestive of interesting thoughts 
to the new monarch. Till midnight the halls of the palaoe 
resounded with rerelry. There was illumination, feasting, 
music, and dancing. But when the guests had retired, and 
darkness and solitude came, Julian found the imperial pillow 
filled with thorns, and he could not sleep. 

But there were other armies in distant parts of the empirOi 
proud, flushed with yictorj, and fiir more numerous than the 
Pretorian bands. Just across the Adriatic sea, in DlyTicum, 
was Septimius Severus, a renowned general, at the head of 
three Roman legions, amounting to nearly twenty thousand 
men, and also with a large force of auxiliaries. In Britain, 
Clodius Albinus commanded a similar force. He was a man 
of the highest patrician rank, and regarded with contempt 
the plebeian origin of Julian. In Syria, Pescennius Niger 
held an army still more powerful than that of Severus or 
Albinus. 

Each of these armies immediately imitated the Pretorian 
band, and each, in its own encampment, enthroned its leadw, 
declaring him to be invested with the imperial purple. There 
were now four emperors, and from Slyricum, Britain, and 
Syria, sixty thousand Roman troops, with large accompanying 
bands of auxiliaries, were marching upon Rome. To meet 
them Julian had but the Pretorian bands. Severus, in Blyn- 
oum, was the nearest to Rome, and was approaching with 
rapid strides. Julian, terrified, sent ambassadors to treat 
with him, offering to share the empire. Severus, oonsdoui 
of the superiority of his army, rejected the proposal. Eager 
to reach Rome and to consolidate his power before either of 



S62 l<iALT« 

his rivals shonld appear beneath the waUs, he placed hunself 
at the head of bis columns, marching on foot, scarcely allow 
ing time for sleep or food, sharing the hardships of the hmn« 
blest soldier, and animating all by the glittering prize within 
their grasp. He crossed the Alps. City after city, neither 
able nor disposed to oppose, joyfully /eceived him. Ravenna, 
the great seaport of the northern Adriatic, surrendered, and 
with it Severus obtained the whole Adriatic fleet. With 
nnintermitted strides he pressed on, and was now within two 
hundred and fifty miles of Rome. 

Julian, almost delirious with terror, acted like a mad man. 
He was continually sending ambassadors to the camp of 
Severus to negotiate, and assassins to stab. He invoked the 
gods, the senate, the people, the guards. He sent the vestal 
virgins, and the priests in their sacerdotal garb, to plead his 
cause with Severus. He had recourse to enchantments to 
paralyze his foe. But all was in vain. Severus was now 
within seventy miles of Rome, and as yet had met with no 
opposition calling for the unsheathing of the sword. His 
agents were already in the capital^ and mingling with the 
Pretorian bands, were attempting to purchase their espousal 
of his cause. The soldiers cared but little who was emperor, 
if it were but one from whom they could receive liberal 
rewards. It was evident now that Severus would be vio- 
torious. 

The soldiers of the Pretorian guard accordingly reassem« 
bled the senate, and ordered them to depose Julian. Then 
they conducted Julian very politely into one of the private 
apartments of his palace, carefully, and without any needless 
rudeness or violence, cut ofT his head, and sent the bloody 
trophy on a pike a peace-offering to Severus. Such was the 
end of Julian's reign of sixty-six days. Severus entered Rome 
in triumph, despoiled the Pretorian guard, which had become 
enervated through luxury, of their arms and wealth, dis- 
banded the body and banished the members, on pain of 



rOHHEKCBHBNT OF THB DBOLINB AND FALL. S58 

death, to the distance of one hundred mOes frvim the metro- 
pofis. But Seyerns, though thus triumphant, was in danger 
of encountering the same fate which had overwhelmed Julian. 

There were two hostile armies now approaching Rome, the 
one un'er Albinus, from Britain, equal to that of Sevems, and 
the other still more formidable, under Niger, from Syria. The 
union of these armies would render the ruin of Severus cer- 
tain. With characteristic cimning, and perfidy, Severus dis- 
armed Albinus, by entering into an alliance with him, giving 
him the title of C»sar, and virtually sharing with him the 
empire. Having accomplished this feat, he turned, with all 
his energy, upon Niger, and in three great battles destroyed 
his army. Niger fled helpless to Antioch. For a defeated 
general there was no possible escape. The executioners of 
Severus pursued the fugitive, and cutting off his head sent it 
to the conqueror. 

Severus now extended his scqyter undisputed over the 
nations of the East. But Albinus still lived, in command of 
ancles, and claiming a sort of coUeagueship with the imperial 
victor. It was needfril, for the concentration of dignity and 
power in the hands of Seyerus, that Albinus should be dis- 
posed of. Severus wrote to him affectionately, as follows : 

^ Brother of my soul and empire ; the gods have given us 
the victory over our enemies. Niger is no more, and his army 
is destroyed. I entreat you to preserve the troops and the 
public Mthfid to our common interests. Present my affeo- 
tionate salutation to your wife Julia, and to your little 
fiunily."* 

The messenger who conveyed this epistle was directed to 
watch his chance and plunge a dagger into the heart of Albinus. 
By some chance the conspiracy was discovered, and AlbinuSi 
enraged, and conscious that death was his inevitable doom, 
resolved to sell his life deariy. Severus was now altogether 
loo powerftd to be vanquished by the leader of a few legioof 
• Tlie wbole of ttiis onriooB letter « BtOl eztSDt 



S84 ITALY. 

in BritaiD. Albinos, however, pat himself ut the head of his 
troops, crossed the channel, and met the victorious army of 
Severus in Gaul, near the site of the present city of Lyons. 
The battle was fiercely fought, through a long day. The 
army of Albinus was cut to pieces, and he himself completed 
the victory of Severus, by thrusting a swprd through his own 
heart. The head of the unfortunate general was sent a trophy 
to Rome. The brutal victor trampled the body beneath his 
horse's hoofs, and after leaving the mangled corpse, for a time, 
to be devoured by dogs, ordered the remains to be thrown 
into the Rhine. The wife and children of Albinus were also 
inhumanly massacred. Enriching his army abundantly with 
the spoils of the vanquished, Severus returned to Rome, where 
a splendid triumphal arch was erected to commemorate his 
success, which arch still remains in a good state of preser- 
vation. 

An insurrection in Britain called the emperor to that 
island. Appointing his two sons, Caracalla and Geta as 
joint successors in the empire, with a powerful army he 
landed in Britain. Sending a division of his army, under 
Geta to overawe the lower provinces, he advanced, accom- 
panied by Caracalla, to attack the Caledonians. His army 
encoimtered incredible fatigue in forcing their way through 
forests and marshes, and over unbridged rivers. In a few 
months fifty thousand men perished from sickness and the 
sword. But the Caledonians were at length compelled to beg 
for peace. They were forced to surrender a portion of their 
country, and, as a protection from their ftiture incursions, 
Severus built the famous wall, which still goes by liis name^ 
from Solway Frith to the German ocean. Soon after thii 
Severus died in the city of York, in Britain, at the age of 
sixty-six, after a reign of eighteen years. 

During his reign a new Pretorian guard was organized, 
four times as numerous as the one disbanded. He lavished 
Cp-eat wealth upon his troops, so that ihey became enervated 



OOMMBKCSMBHT OF THB DSOLIKB AKD FALL. Mi 

liy the most senBnal mdnlgenoe. All power was wrested from 
the senate, and a long step was thus taken in the road to na* 
tiional min. Gloom overshadowed his last days, ^* Omnia 
fiii," he exdumed, ^^ et nihil expedit.^' I have been att things 
and aU is of little value. Satiated with riches and fame, 
weary of the cares of empire, and disturbed by the bickerings 
of his sons, into whose depraved and hostile hands h^ was to 
surrender nnlimited power, and with nothing to contemplate 
beyond the grave bat darkness impenetrable, he sank in sad* 
ness to the tomb. And yet the hoary-headed tyrant be- 
queathed to his boys the political aphorism, by obedience to 
which he had gained all his power. It was this, ^* Enrich 
your soldiers at any price, and regard all the rest of your 
Bobjeots as mere ciphers." 

The two sons of Severus had from childhood been impla- 
oaUy hostile to each other. Gradaally they had divided the 
oonrt into two antagonistic factions. The incessant quarrels 
of these two heirs of the throne had greatly embittered the 
last days of their father. Caracalla was the elder of the 
princes, and his soul seemed ever agitated with the wildest 
ambition, and the most depraved passions. Gteta was more 
voluptuous and effeminate, and he was more popular with the 
people. Caracalla had made several unsuccessful attempts to 
poison his father, and at one tLme had nearly succeeded in ex* 
citing a mutiny among the troops. Immediately after the deatn 
of Severus, the two young men, who thus succeeded to the 
crown, commenced a rapid journey, through Gaul and Italy, 
to Rome. 

They traveled the same road, with separate retinues, jeal- 
ously watching each other, to guard against assassination, and 
never venturing to eat at the same table, or sleep in the same 
house. Thus, the fame of their discord was widely spread. 
On their arrival at Rome they occupied different palaces, with 
guards stationed around the doors, and with no communica* 
tion existing between them, except that which was marked 



nt ITALY. 

inth the utmost jealousy and rancor. It seemed im|xiBsiU« 
that the empire could be governed in common by men whose 
hostility to each other was so deadly, and it was proposed that 
they should divide the empire between them. Some progress 
had been made in the negotiation, upon the basis that Cara- 
ealla, as the elder, should reside in Rome, and retain dominioa 
over Europe and western Africa, while Greta, sdecting Antioch 
or Alexandria as his capital, should exercise sovereignty over 
Asia and Egypt. Numerous armies were to be encamped on 
each shore of the Thracian Bosphorus to protect the frontiers 
of the rival monarchies. 

This plan for a dismemberment of the empire, merdy to 
gratify the passions of two worthless young men, excited in- 
dignation in almost every Roman breast. Caracalla reflected 
that one dagger thrust, one cup of poison would relieve him 
from all these embarrassments, and with new energy he pre- 
pared to put his brother out of the way. Feigning desire for 
reconciliation, he proposed a friendly meeting in the apartment 
of their mother. In the midst of the conversation, two assaB- 
sins, who had been concealed, rushed in, and, with the assist- 
ance of Caracalla cut down Oeta, and he died in his mother's 
arms, drenching her garments with his blood. She herself 
was severely wounded in the endeavor to shield her son from 
the daggers which were aimed at him. 

Caracalla easily secured the support of the army with vast 
bribes. The senate was now ever ready to do homage to bxho 
oessful power. The only redeeming trait in the character of 
Caracalla is to found in the fact that he could not escape the 
stings of remorse. The image of his brother, bleeding, stru^ 
gling, dying, in the arms of hir, terrified, shrieking mother, pur- 
sued the murderer to his grave. But this remorse only goaded 
him to new crimes. Julia, his mother, was threatened with 
instant death f she did not cease her lamentations, and receive 
Caracalla witn smiles of approbation and joy. Every one who 
was supposed to be in the interest of Geta, without regard 



OOMMBNCBMBKT OF THS OBOLIKB AND FALL* 8Sf 

lo age or sex, was put to death. More than twenty thousand 
perished in this wholesale proscription. The friends of the 
executed were compelled to hide their tears, for the slightest 
indication of sympathy was sure to call down the yengeance 
of the tyrant. 

About a year after the death of Geta, Caracalla left Rome, 
lo visit the distant provinces of his empire. His path was 
everywhere marked with the traces of extortion, rapine, and 
violence. A large number of the senate were compelled to 
accompany him, and to provide in every city the most costly 
oitertainments. New and ingenious forms of taxation were 
invented, and the wealthy &milies were ruined by fines and 
oonfiscations. In consequence of a lampoon, which some wag 
m Alexandria had composed, Caracalla issued an order for the 
general massacre of the inhabitants. A demon could hardly 
have been more wanton and perfidious in cruelty. But enor* 
mous gifts to the army, with the permission of any amount of 
ficense, secured the support of their swords. With such sup- 
port he had few enemies to fear. The resources of the state 
were exhausted to enrich the soldiers, ^^ whose modesty in 
peace, and service in war," Gibbon has well observed, ^^ is best 
secured by an honorable poverty." 

One of the emperor's generals, Macrinus^ who commanded 
the imperial forces in Mesopotamia, accidentally discovered 
that he had excited the suspicions of Caracalla, and was con- 
sequenuy doomed to death. In hiu despair he engaged one 
of his centurions, a man of herculean strength, to assassinate 
the emperor. Watching his opportunity, as the emperor was 
nding out one day. in the vicinity of Edessa, the centurion 
stabbed him in the back, killing him instantly. The assassin, 
however, paid the forfeit of his own life, for he was inmiedi- 
ately cut down by the guard. Thus terminated the diabolical 
sway of Caracalla, with which God had allowed the world to 
be cursed for six years. 

The army now looked around for a successor, and after to 



$te tTAI.T 

interval of three days fixed upon Macrinns, who made then 
great promises. The appomtment was sent to the senate, and 
was submissively confirmed. But Maerinus was neither illns- 
trious through lineage, wealth, nor exploits; and gradually 
murmurs begau to arise against the bestowal of the imperial 
purple upon one no obscure. These murmurs were loudly 
inoreased by his cautious attempts to introduce a few reforms 
into the army. He did not venture to meddle with the privi- 
leges and 'extravagant pay which the soldiers who were already 
engaged received, but endeavored to organize new recruits 
upon a more economical basis. The army was ^icamped in 
winter quarters in Syria. Maerinus, with a division of the 
army, as his ostentatious retinue, was luxuriating in the impe- 
rial pahkce at Antioch. 

Under these drcnmstances, a Syrian, named Elagabalus, 
tnder the pretense that he was the son of one of the concu- 
bines of Caracalla, whose memory the corrupt army adored, 
formed a conspiracy, and, supported by the encamped troops, 
declared himself emperor and marched upon Antioch. The 
soldiers, eager for the renewal of their former license, with 
enthusiasm, cohort after cohort, abandoned Maerinus, and 
joined Elagabalus. One battle finished the strife, Maerinus 
was slain, and all the troops flocked to the banners of the 
conqueror. But twenty days elapsed fi*om the commence 
ment of the strife to the victory of Elagabalus. The power- 
less senate dared not remonstrate against the sword of the 
army, and confirmed with exemplary docility, thdr choice of 
a new emperor. The reign of Maerinus lasted but one year 
and two months. 

Elagabalus passed the winter in riotous Hving with fais 
generals in Nicomedia, and early in the spring commenced a 
triumphal march toward Rome. As he had formerly been, m 
the idolatrous worship of the East, high priest of the sun, he 
entered Rome in the double character of pontiff and emper(»r. 
He streets through which he passed were sprinkled with gold 



COMMENCBMENT OF THB DECLIKB AND FALL. 960 

dost. ElagabaloB, arrayed in sacerdotal robes of silk and 
gold, with a gorgeous tiara upon bis brow, and with bracelets 
and collars studded with inestimable gems, led six milk white 
horses, most sumptuously caparisoned, drawing a chariot con« 
taining the black, conical stone which was the symbol of the 
god at whose shrine he ministered. In his character of nriest, 
he held the reins and walked slowly backwards, that his eye 
might not for one moment wander from the divinity Le 
adored. 

A magnificent temple was reared for this new deity on the 
Paxatine mount, and he was daily worshiped with oblations 
and sacrifices, which surpassed all that Rome had yet beheld 
of idolatrous splendor. S}Tian girls of voluptuous beauty 
danced lasciviously around the altar, while the highest dignita- 
ries of the state and army performed the humblest Unctions 
before the shrine. Elagabalus rioting in imperial wealth and 
power, siurendered himself to the grossest and most disgust- 
ing dissoluteness. Bringing the vices and the luxury of the 
orient to his court, and adding to those all the refinements of 
enervating and demoralizing pleasure which the Occident could 
suggest, he presented to the world a spectacle of shameless 
debauchery, which had never before been paralleled. 

The palaces of the Caesars had been already as corrupt as 
the ingenuity of their possessors could make them. But 
Elagabalus, transporting to Rome the vices of Asia, had 
more capacity for the perpetration of deeds of enormouji 
foulness than any of his predecessors possessed. The story 
of his atrocities can not be told. Modem civilization can not 
listen to the recital. He dressed boys in the robes of girls 
and married them. The ingenuity of his court was taxed to 
subvert every law of nature and of decency. Bad as the 
world now is, it has made vast strides in the path of improve- 
ment since that day. Christianity has indeed, notwithstand* 
ing an its corruptions, already wrought a wonderful change. 



880 ITALY. 

No court in Europe now would tolerate for a day a Nero ct 
an Elagabalns. 

At length even pagan Rome could endure such infamy no 
longer. The fiendftil priest and emperor was smitten down 
in a sudden fray in the camp, and, with many of his minions, 
was hewn to pieces. His mutilated corpse was dragged with 
every expression of contempt through the streets of Rome, 
and cast into the Tiber. The senate passed a decree con- 
signing his name to eternal infamy. With an universal out* 
burst of approval, posterity has ratified the edict. 

The Pretorian guard, in its luxurious suburban encamp- 
ment, passed the scepter into the hands of Alexander, a 
cousin of Elagabalus, a modest youth of but seventeen years 
of age. The sovereign army supposed that it could mold 
him at its will. The senate, as ever, was pliant as wax. The 
mother of the unassimiing boy was a woman of unconunon 
character, and with singular sagacity, she for a time guided aO 
his measures. It is said that she was a disciple of the Saviour, 
and that, instructed by that pure faith, it was her great ambi« 
tion to cleanse Rome from the pollutions of the preceding 
reign. She appointed for her son teachers of the most esti- 
mable character, and he was instructed in the faith and morals 
of Christianity. She established an advisory council, consists 
ing of sixteen of the ablest senators. All the minions of 
Elagabalus were driven from office. 

Under the guidance of wise teachers, Alexander Severus, 
as he is usually called, began to develop a singularly mild and 
4>ure character. He seems to have been endowed with aii 
original constitution of soul, which was dove-like and passion- 
less. He was amiable, unsensual, and moderate in all his 
desires. There was nothing in his nature which responded to 
ordinary temptations. He was not virtuous through stem 
resistance to the allurements of vice ; he was virtuous because 
he had apparently no temptation to be otherwise. God had 
made him so. In the human family there are lambs and there 



nOMMBXCBlIBNT OF THX DBOLIKB AND FALLo 861 

are tiger's whelps. The &ot is undeniable. But whose philo- 
Bophy or theology can explain the fact? Elagabalos and 
Alexander were oonsins. Bat temptation glided from the 
Boul of Alexander, as Jeremy Taylor would say, like dew- 
drops from a dndc's neck. And yet, cap any philosephy or 
theology triumph over the common sense dedaralion that 
Elagabalus was an infamous wretch, meriting the ezeoratioii 
of mankind? 

The historians of those days give the follow ng account of 
the education of this prince, then an emperor. Strange scenes 
to have been witnessed in a palace of the CsBsars ! Alexander 
rose at an early hour, and in prayer implored divine guidance 
for the day. He then met his cabinet council, and with great 
patience devoted several hours to the discussion of affiurs o^ 
state, and to the redress of private wrongs. A portion of 
time was then set apart for study, much attention being 
devoted to the works of Virgil, Plato, Horace, and Cicero. 
He then entered his gymnasium for bodily exercise, and thna 
there was developed a muscular system of unusual vigor. 
After a bath and a slight dinner, he received petitions, and 
directed replies to letters and memorials, till supper, which, 
with the Romans, was the principal meal of the day. His 
table was always spread with great frugality, and usually 
invited guests, distinguished for learning and virtue, sat down 
with him. His dress was plain, and all were impressed by 
his polished manners. For forty years the palaces of the 
CsBsara had been but a simmering pool of corruption. The 
first appi uaches of Christianity thus changed the scene. 

But the moment the emperor touched, even with the gen- 
tlest hand, the privileges of the soldiers, a cry was heard which 
resounded through the empire. In a paroxysm cf rage the 
Pretorian guards marched into the city, breathing threaten- 
ings and slaughter. For three days, a fierce civil war raged 
in the streets of Rome. Many houses were burned, multi- 
tudes were slain, and the city was menaced with a genonl 

16 



862 ITALY. 

conflagration. Several of the leading friends of the emperor 
were massacTed, and Alexander was compelled to suocvmb to 
the military mob ; and the soldiers returned, mipnnished and 
trimnp hant, to their quarters. 

The les^ions in the provinces followed the successful exam* 
pie of the Pretorian guard, and refused to submit to the slight- 
est curtailment of their privileges. This contest with the 
licentious soldiery embittered the whole of the reign of Alex^ 
ander. 

Thirty-two years before the period of which we now are 
writing, the emperor Severus, returning from one of his east- 
em expeditions, halted in Thrace, to celebrate with military 
games the birth of his son Geta. A gigantic young barbarian 
came rollicking into the camp, challenging any one to wrestle 
with him. Sixteen of the stoutest followers of the army he, in 
succession, laid upon their backs. The next day, as Severus 
with his suite, on horseback, was galloping over the plain, 
this agile young barbarian, whose name was Maximin, with 
the speed of an antelope, placed himself at the side of the em- 
peror, keeping pace with his horse in a long and rapid career ; 
and then, apparently not fatigued in the slightest degree with 
his race, in a wrestling match threw, one afler another, seven 
of the most powerful soldiers of the army. 

The emperor, astonished at these feats, rewarded Maximin 
with a golden collar, and assigned him an important post in 
his Tiwn retinue. This Maximin was a genuine barbarian, hav- 
ing a Goth for his father, and a woman from the still more 
savage tribe of the Alani, for his mother. Renowned for 
strength and bravery, he rose rapidly in the army, until he at- 
tained the first military command. He now headed a con- 
spiracy against Alexander. " Why," said he, " should Roman 
armies be subject to an effeminate Syrian, the slave of his 
mother, and of the senate. Soldiers should be governed by a 
soldier, one reared in camps, and one who knows how lo d]» 
tribute among his comrades the treasures of the empire." 



OOMMSNCEMENT OF THE DECLINE AND FALL. 868 

An immense army was at this time gathered upon the 
Rhine, to repel an irruption of the barbarians from Gtonnanj. 
As by a simultaneous movement, the soldiers rose, out dowii 
Alexander, his mother, and all his supporters, and with shouts 
and clashing weapons, and trumpet peals, in wildest uproar, 
proclaimed Maximin Imperator. Alexander reigned thirteen 
years, and was murdered on the nineteenth of Maroh, A.D. 285. 



CHAPTER XX. 

BAPID STRIDES OF DEGLIITE. 
From a. d. 236 to a. d. 283. 

KAznmr.— Hn Bbiok amd Dbath.— Bitolt in Afbioa.— Tm OomDiASi^->TBi two 

J&MPSBOBa.— Balbinub and Mazimub.— Anaboht in Bom.— MuKDaB or m Km 
fbbob8.~Philip Mabinus and Dboiub.— Dbsionation op O^mab.— Hbbbditaby 
Dbsobnt.— Thb Gothio Intasion.— Yalbbian and Gallibnub— Tbbbiblb Fatb 
or Yalbbian.— >AooBB8ioN or GLAUDins.— Immbnbb Abut or thb Goths.— Yioto* 
BOB OP Claudiub. — Chabaotbb and Fatb opZbnobia.— Attbblian. — Intbbbbonitm. 
— Taoititb.— His Dbath.— Pbobub.— Gabub.— Hn Maboh to Pbbbia, and Dbath. 

TN the exaggerated annals of those days we are told that 
-*■ Maximin was eight and a half feet high, and well propor- 
tioned ; that his wife's bracelet served him for a thumb ring ; 
that his strength was equal to that of two oxen ; that with a 
blow of his fist he could strike out the teeth of a horse, and 
break his thigh with a kick. His daily rations consisted of six 
gallons of wine, and forty pounds weight of flesh. The con- 
sciousness of his low origin exasperated him, and he endeav- 
ored to destroy all who had any personal knowledge of the 
obscurity from which he had sprung. In the intensity of his 
jealousy he had put four thousand persons to death whom he 
suspected of conspiring against him. Some were sewed up in 
hides of slaughtered animals and left to perish either of suffo^ 
cation or hunger. Some were thrown into the ampitheater to 
be torn to pieces by wild beasts ; and some were beaten to 
death by clubs. For some reason, perhaps ashamed of his 
low breeding and his ungainly address, he could not be per- 
suaded to visit Rome ; but spent his time in traveling from 
^amp to camp, on the Rhine and on the Danube. No man of 
graceful manners or accomplished mind was permitted to ap- 
pear before him. His graspings for wealth were insatiable^ 



BAPID 8TBIDS8 OF DSOLINB. MB 

.AD temples were robbed ; and the most exquisite ststnes of 
gold and silrer were remorselessly melted down. A short 
reign of three years finished the career of this monbter. The 
story of his death is thus recorded : 

Some groBH outrages, perpetrated at the oommeiicement of 
he reign of the tyrant, goaded both the army and the people of 
AMca to insurrection. The emissaries of Maximin in the Afri- 
can army were fiercely dispatched, and the standard of rebelFoift 
was unfurled. The soldiers compelled Gordian, proconsul of 
Africa, to accept the imperial purple. He was a R(»man gea- 
tieman, of highest rank, and of vast wealth. His mansion, in 
Rome, was the palace which Pompey the Great, in his regal 
state, inhabited, and his villa, but a short distance from Rome, 
rivaled the imperial chateaux in the grandeur of architecture, 
and in costly furniture and embellishments. The Gordian 
family stood at the head of the Roman aristocracy. The old 
man was now eighty years of age, and the affidrs of his prov- 
ince were mainly administered by his son, who had aooompai^ 
ied him to Africa, a lieutenant then in the prime of life. 

The s^iate ir Rome, disgusted with Maximin, who was at 
this time with the army in Pannonia, on the upper Danube^ 
joyfully received the tidings of the revolt in Africa, and in- 
stantly sanctioned, by their sufirage, the choice of the Goi^ 
dians. The fitther aind son established their court at Carthage. 
Rome was in a tumult of joy. The populace ran through the 
streets brandishing their daggers, and shouting the praises of 
the Gordians. But the savage Maximin was a man not to be 
despised. An army was sent agmst Carthage. Young Gor- 
dian fell upon the plain where his routed troops were cut to 
pieces, and the aged father, in despair, put an end to his life. 
Bitter was the vengeance which Maximin wreaked upon Afri- 
ca. And now the tyrant tamed his steps toward Rome. Hie 
eenate met in a state of inexpressible dismay. Not only con- 
fiseadon and ruin awaited them and their families, but deatk 



800 ITALY. 

b the most revolting and cruel forms. One of the senators, 
more heroic than the rest, in a bold and rousing speech, said : 

" We have lost two excellent princes, but unless we desert 
ourselves, the hopes of the republic have not perished with the 
Gordians. Many are the senators whose virtues have de- 
served, and whose abilities would sustain the imperial dignity. 
Let us elect two emperors, one of whom may conduct the war 
against the public enemy, whilst his colleague remains at Rome 
to direct the civil administration. I cheerftdly expose myself 
to the danger of the nomination, and propose Maximus and 
Balbinus. Ratiiy my choice, or appoint others more worthy.'* 

The nomination was promptly ratified. Balbinus was a 
distinguished orator and magistrate, of noble birth, and af- 
fluent fortune. Maximus was a rough soldier, of lowly birth, 
who by courage and genius had fought his way to no incon- 
siderable renown. Maximin was now foaming and raging like 
a wild beast. With an immense army, which had been strug- 
gling against the barbarians on the banks of the Danube, he 
crossed the Julian Alps. But he found in his path only smol- 
dering ruins, desolation, and solitude. The inhabitants, terri- 
fied by his known savage nature, had fled in all directions, 
driving away their cattle, breaking down bridges, and remov- 
ing or destroying their provisions. The first Italian city he 
approached was Acquileia, at the head of the Adriatic gulf. 

This city was then called the second Rome, and was forti- 
fied with the highest resources of art, as a barrier against bar- 
barian invasion. Maximin was a fearless, skillful, and deter- 
mined soldier. Leaving a portion of his army to conduct the 
siege with all possible destructiveness and cruelty, he pressed 
on with another division of his troops to Ravenna. In this 
dreadful hour, when Rome was threatened with vengeance, 
the recital of which would cause every ear which should hear 
it to tingle, some exasperated soldiers of his own camp, taking 
advantage of the execration which the monster's inhumanity 
had created, in open day broke into his tent, thrust him 



BAPIC BTBIDSB OF DBOLIITS. 807 

through and through with their javeliiis, out off his head, and 
with every speoies of derision and insult, paraded it on a pike 
through the camp 1 A shout of exultation rose from the whole 
army, and with general acchum they accepted Maximns and 
Balbinus as their lawful emperors. Mazimin had been invest- 
ed with the purple but three years. 

The whole Roman empire seemed agitated with joy, as the 
news spread of the downfall of the tyrant. But in Rome, an- 
archy succeeded. A conflict arose between the senate and the 
populace of Rome on the one side, supporting the new empe- 
rors, and the Pretorian guard on the other. The soldiers 
were victorious, and breaking into the palace, they seized 
Maximus and Balbinus, stripped them of their robes, dragged 
them ignominiously through the streets, and then, piercing 
them with a thousand spears, threw their mangled remains in- 
to a gutter, to be devoured by dogs. The soldiers then seized 
a grandson of the elder Gordian, who had perished in Africa, 
and bore the lad, who was but thirteen years of age, in tri- 
umph to the camp, and proclaimed him emperor. In six 
months, five emperors had perished. The senate, with the 
sword at their throats, prudently acceded to the demand of 
the soldiers, and, by accepting Gordian as their sovereign, 
saved the empire from the miseries of civil war. 

The reign of young Gordian was short, and uneventful. 
He had but just entered his nineteenth year when, while at tho 
head of his army in Mesopotamia, waging war against the Per- 
sians, he was poisoned by one of his leading generals, an Ara- 
bian soldier, by the name of Philip, who having previously 
formed a conspiracy of the troops, was immediately pro- 
claimed emperor. But the army on the Danube, which wa 
gathered there in great strength, to repel the constantly 
menacing invasion of the barbarians, was not disposed to ac- 
cept an emperor from the Persian army. Repudiating th< 
election of Philip, they elected one of their own generala 



868 ITAIiT. 

named MarinnB, a man of but little note. Still FhiUp 
alanned, for the Dannbian army was very formids^ble. 

He immediately sent Decius, one of the most iUnstrioofl 
of the Roman senate, to the Danubian army, to endeavor, by 
his personal influence, to quell the insurrection. But tJhe 
insTii'gent soldiers, rejoicing to obtain so illustrious a captiye, 
seized him, and with threats of instant death, compelled him 
to accept the poet of Imperator. In the meantime they repu- 
diated Marinus who was powerl.ss. Thus constrained, Deciu0 
yidded to their wishes, and led his army into Italy. Philip 
hastened to meet hinie The two hostile armies, under their 
several leaders, met at Verona. The troops of Philip were 
routed, and one of Philip's own soldiers, with a blow of his 
heavy sword, cleft the monarch's head asunder. * The senate, 
the people, and the Pretorian guard at Home, aU welcomed 
the new sovereign, who could enforce his claim with so many 
veteran lemons. 

To the eye of reason, nothing can seem more absurd than 
the doctrine of the hereditary descent of power. That a 
babe, a feeble gu^l, a semi-idiot or a monster of depravity, 
should be invested with the sovereignty over millions, merely 
from the accident of birth, is apparently bs preposterous as 
any folly which intelligence can scrutinize ; a folly which the 
history of hereditary sovereignties most fearfully illustrates. 
And yet a nation may be so unintelligent, or so depraved, 
that they can do nothing better than submit to this chance. 
The accident of birth may be more likely to be favorable thao 
their own stupid or vicious choice. But where there is any 
thing like intelligence and integrity pervading a nation, the 
only course of dignity and of safety, is for the people to 
choose their rulers. But Rome had become so dissolute and 
barbaric, that had every name in the empire been cast into 
the wheel of the lottery, and had the first one thrown out 
been accepted as emperor, the result could not have been 
more disastrous, than that which ensued from the nominal 



BAPID 8TBIDSB OF DBCLINB. 809 

•oflhige of the senate and the army. It is ncit too much to 
aaj that the weaken*-; and leaat sacoessful of the Presidents <^ 
the United States has been superior, as a roler, to the best of 
the CiBsars ; not grtaUr in administratiye energy, but htXUr 
(M8 a sovereign. 

History also teaches the foUy of electing a ruler for life. 
Millions may thus be doomed to suffer for half a century under 
a Nero, a Caraoalla, or a Mazimin, and there is no refuge but 
in the immorality of the dagger. Thus assassination becomes, 
as in ancient Rome, an institution, and almost ceases to be a 
crime. The election of a ruler, for a short term of service, 
who is then to return again to the bosom of the people, to 
share in the taxes which have been imposed, and to be subject 
to the laws which have been enacted, is surely the highest 
deduction of political intelligence. Admitting that there are 
people, so debased, unintelligent or unfortunate that they are 
incapable of being benefited by this privilege, happy is that 
people who can enjoy and appreciate the dignity and utility 
of popular sufirage. 

Dedus, at the head of his lemons, marched from the 
bloody field of Verona to Rome, received the homage of the 
senate, the huzzas of the people, and took up hia abode in the 
palaces of the Ciesars. The withdrawal of the troops from 
the Danube encouraged the Goths to cross that stream in 
desolating bands. Marching downward from the shores of 
the Baltic sea, they had ravaged the province of Dacia, a 
country which extended for many leagues along the northern 
shores of the Danube, comprising nearly all the present region 
of Transylvania, Moldavia, and Wallacia. 

Just across the Danube, lining the southern banks, was 
the Romaa province of Moesia, now Bulgaria. In wolfish 
bands these fierce warriors swam the stream, and trampling 
down the feeble opposition they encountered, cut down the 
inhabitants and swept the land, plundering and burning. 
Decius, spurring on his troops, was soon upon them* 



S70 ITALY. 

The barbarians, disdaining to retreat, pressed onward south 
westerly into Thrace, and, as Decius incantionsly pursued, 
they turned upon him at PhilipopoS, routed the lemons, 
plundered their camp, scaled- the walls of the city, and put 
to the sword its whole population, indiscriminately, amounting 
to one hundred thousand souls. This was the first success^ 
irruption of the barb^^rians into the Roman empire, and no 
tongue can tell the dismay with which the tidings were 
received in Rome. It was in a. d. 250. 

Decius rallied his dispersed forces, gathered recruits, and 
again met his foes on the plains of Moesia. Again the Romans, 
enervated by vice and luxury, were beaten down by the burly 
arms of the barbarians. The conflict was terrible. Decius 
himself was slain, and his body, trampled in the mire of a 
morass, could never be found. A son of Decius abo perished 
with his father on that disastrous day. The broken battalions 
of the Romans fled, bleeding and panic-stricken, in all direc- 
tions. Tlie senate, confounded by the calamity, immediately 
chose again two emperors, probably intending in that form to 
restore gradually the old Roman republic with two annual 
consuls. 

Hostilianus, a son of Decius, was elected as civil emperor, 
to remain in Rome, while Gallus, a veteran soldier and a 
renowned general, was elected military emperor, to take 
command of the armies. But Rome had already fallen so 
low that Gallus was compelled to the ignominy of purchasing 
peace of the barbarians, by allowing them to retire, with all 
their plunder. They took with them thousands of Roman 
captives, illustnous men and beautiful women, to serve as 
slaves in the fields and the harems of the Goths. By the 
law of human retribution this was right. Rome had made 
daves of all nations, and it was just that Rome should drink 
of the cup of slavery herself 

Hostilianus suddenly sickened and died. Gallus, who thus 
became sole sovereign, was charged with his murder. At the 



BAPID BTBIDSB OV DBCLINB. SYl 

same time ^milianus, governor of the province of MoBsia, 
gained some little advantages over a wandering band of the 
barbarians; thereupon the Danubian legions declared him 
emperor, and placing him at their head, commenced a march 
into Italy. The senate, deeming JSmilianns the stronger of the 
rivals, murdered Gallos and his son, and conferred the impe- 
rial purple upon ^milianus. The Roman empire at this time 
consisted of a belt of territory about one thousand miles in 
width, encircling the Mediterranean sea as its central lake. 
Poetry can hardly conceive of a location more beautiM or 
better adapted for the accumulation of wealth and power. 

And now, along the whole line of the Danube, barbarian 
tribes, of unknown names and customs, began to menace the 
empire ; crossing the river with the sweep of the tornado, but 
to destroy with resistless energy, and as suddenly to dis- 
^>pear. Gallus, just before his death, had summoned Val- 
erian, a Roman senator and general of renown, to his aid 
with the army from Gaul. As Valerian was crossing the 
Alps he received the tidings of the death of Gallus, and 
determined to avenge him. As the two hostile armies, the 
one led by Valerian, the other by ^milianus, approached 
Spoleto, the soldiers of ^milianus, unwilling to contend with 
troops confessedly more powerful, murdered their imperatOTj 
and with enthusiasm declared for Valerian, ^milianus had 
rdgned less than four months. 

Valerian was already an old man, and he associated with 
him, in the cares of government his son Gallienus. To mul- 
tiply the troubles of Rome, the Persians were now, in vast 
armies, assailmg the empire in the East. To meet these 
menaces Gallienus took diarge of the troops of the German 
frontier, and Valerian inarched to repel the Persian cohorts in 
the East. But the power of ancient Rome was no more. The 
barbarian Franks, in t.ibes of various names, trampling down 
the enervated legions of the C»sars, in saooessive wavea of 



879 ITALY. 

invasion, swept over Granl and Spain, and even cropsed tli# 
straits of Hercules a&.d penetrated Africa. 

Another barbarian nation, called the Alemani, came howl- 
ing through the defiles of the Rluetian Alps, and, almost 
unresisted, swept over the plains of Lombardy. Leaving 
behind them traces of the most awful destruction, they re- 
tired, with shouts of exultation and bm*dened with booty to 
thdr northern wilds. The Groths of the Uki^aine, about the 
same time, in three expeditions of hitherto unparalleled de 
struotiveness, took possession of the coasts of the Euxine, 
overran Asia Minor. In the flat-bottomed boats which had 
transported their bands across the Euxine to Asia, they 
descended the Bosphorus and the Hellespont, and loaded 
their fleet to the watei*'s edge with the spoils of the Archi- 
pelago. Thence they marched upon Epirus, and even began 
to threaten Italy. 

As Valerian marched through Greece and Asia Minor, 
with his veteran legions, the Goths sullenly retreated, laden 
with the plunder of the provinces. Pressing forward on his 
route he crossed the Euphrates, and met his Persian foes, in 
strong military array, on the plains of Mesopotamia. Here 
Sapor, the Persian monarch, triumphed in a decisive battle, 
and Valerian, hemmed in on all sides by overpowering num- 
bers, was compelled to make an unconditional surrender. The 
Roman emperor now drained to the dregs the cup of humiliar 
tion and misery. Derisively robed in the imperial purple. 
Valerian was compelled to stoop, as a footstool before his 
conqueror, who put his foot upon his neck to mount his horse. 
Every conceivable indignity was heaped upon him for seven 
years. It is said that at length his eyes were put out, he was 
flayed alive. His skin tanned, died red, and stuffed, was 
preserved for ages in commemoration of Pei'sia's triumph over 
imperial Rome. 

Gallienus was left, by the captivity and death of Valerian, 
sole emperor. Fond of rank and power, he could not refrain 



BAPID 8TBIDS8 OV DSOLIHS. Sit 

horn the indeoeot expression of grmtiiicaiioD in view of (hose 
misfortmies whidi had relieved him from the colleagaenhip of 
hig fiitfaer. Regardless of the dishonor which had befaLeo 
the empire, he attempted to purchase peace with the bar- 
barians, and devoted himself to the cultivation of poetry; 
riietorio, and the degant arts. Many proviDces were invaded 
and ravaged with impunity, while GMlienus only smiled at the 
intdligence, remarking that Rome was too great to be die- 
tnrbed by a loss so contemptible. The discontent became so 
genera], that it is said that thirty insurgents rose, daring his 
rngn, endeavoring to crowd him from the throne, and grasp 
the scepter. Civil war, incessantly roosed by these local 
fBfads, everywhere desolated the empire. 

Odenathns at Palmyra, near the Euphrates, carved him 
out a kingdom from the crumbling state, and maintained him- 
eelf in his rebellious sovereignty for twelve years. At his 
death he transmitted his scepter to his widow Zenobia. In> 
efficiency and cruelty wa% combined in the character of Gal- 
fienus. 

It appears, by exact roisters, that in the course of a few 
years, the population of the Roman empire had decreased, 
probably one half, from wars, pestilence, and fiunine. The 
barbarians were incessantly ravaging the frontiers, and making 
incursions almost within sight of the domes of Rome. At the 
same time, in almost every province, bands of the army were 
pronouncing some successful general imperator^ and were 
raising ^e standard of rebellion. One of the insurgents, named 
Aureolus, fit)m the Upper Danube, crossed the Rhsetian Alps, 
and marched boldly upon Rome. Gallienus thus roused, 
attacked him, defeated him, and drove him back upon Milan. 
Here Gallienus, in a nocturnal attack, received a mortal dart 
from an unknown band, probably from an assassin in his own 
ranks. 

With his dying breath he named as his successor a distin* 
goished general, Claudius, of plebeian birth, thai in command 



Vf4 ITALY. 

of a division of the Roman army near Pavia. He was a 
veteran soldier, and the senate and the army cordially accepted 
him. Claudius was then fifty-four years of age. With energy 
he assailed Aureolus, captured him and put him to death. 
Heroically he engaged in the attempt to infuse new life into 
the decaying empire. The barbarians of the north, under the 
general name of Goths, were now, in armaments more formid- 
able than ever before, crossing the frontiers, from the German 
ocean to the Euxine sea, a distance of more than fifteen hun- 
dred miles. 

One army, which it was affirmed consisted of three hun- 
dred and twenty thousand, descended the Dneister in six 
thousaiid barges. Encountering but feeble opposition they 
spread in all directions, plundering and destroying the coasts 
of Europe and of Asia. Claudius marched against them. 
The letter he addressed to the senate, on this occasion, is 
still extant. 

By a series of signal victories Claudius drove the barbar- 
ians back again into their forests. As he was pursuing them 
with sleepless energy, he fell a victim to exhaustion and expos- 
ure, and died of a fever, after a reign of two years. He 
gathered his officers around his dying bed, and recommended 
to them one Aurelian, one of his ablest generals, as his succes- 
sor on the throne. Aurelian was the son of a peasant. His 
reign lasted four years and nine months ; and was wonderftdly 
successful. He chastised the Goths with a rod of iron, and 
drove them in dismay from the empire. He recovered Spain, 
Gaul, and Britain from Tetricus, who had usurped the sov- 
ereignty there. He then prepared an expedition to crush 
rebellion in the east. 

History describes Zenobia, the queen of Palmyra, as mar- 
veiously beautiful, being endowed with almost every moral, 
intellectual, and physical grace. She was not only a proficient 
m Latin and Greek, but also understood the Egyptian and 
Syriac languages. With her own pen she had written an ejo^ 



BAPID BTBIDSB OV DBCLINB. 876 

tome of oriental history. For five years, bidding defiance to 
Rome, she had reigned over Palmyra and Syria. Her domin- 
ions extended from the Euphrates to the borders of Bithynia. 
Without directly avowing hostility to Rome, she seemed, at 
times, to assume the character of a Roman empress, in com- 
mand of the eastern division of the empire. Longinus, the 
renowned critic, whose works are studied with admiration to 
the present day, was her secretary. 

Aurelian having vanquished the Goths, with a victorious 
army marched along the shores of the Euxine, into the terri- 
tory claimed by Zenobia. Two great battles were fought, in 
both of which Zenobia was defeated, and her troops cut to 
pieces. As usual, her subjects accepted the conqueror. Zeno- 
bia, however, with intrepidity seldom surpassed, retired to 
her citadel, in Palmyra, resolved to surrender her crown only 
with her life. 

** The Roman people," Aurelian wrote, " speak with con- 
tempt of the war which I am waging against a woman. They 
are ignorant both of the character and the power of Zenobia. 
It is impossible to enumerate her warlike preparations of 
stones, arrows, and every species of missile weapon. Every 
part of the walls is provided with two or three haliatm ; and 
artificial fire is thrown from her military engines. The fear of 
punishment has armed her with a desperate courage. Yet, 
still I trust in the protecting deities of Rome, who have hith- 
erto been favorable to all my undertakings." 

At length Zenobia, after a long and heroic conflict, despair- 
ing of her ability longer to maintain the siege, and conscious 
of the doom which awaited her should she fall into the hands 
of the Romans, endeavored to escape and seek the protection of 
the Persian court. She mounted one of her fleetest dromeda- 
ries and had reached the distance of sixty miles from Palmyra, 
when she was overtaken and brought back a captive to Aure- 
lian. When the heroic queen was conducted into the preMno0 
of her victor he sternly inquired: 



876 ITALY. 

'^ How dared you to rise in arm& against the emperors of 
Rome?" 

With an adroit adndxtnre of flattery and fimmess she re- 
plied, ^ Because I disdained to consider a GaDienns as a Bo- 
man emperor. Anrelian alone I recognize as my conqueror 
and sovereign." 

The victor was not meroifiiL Longinus was sent to th^i 
block. Terrible vengeance was wreaked upon the reconquered 
territory, in which women, children, and old men fell in indis- 
criminate slaughter beneath the swords of the Roman soldiers, 
Zenobia was carried a prisoner to Rome, to grace the triumph* 
Such a triumph Rome had not witnessed for ages. It was the 
dying flicker of the lamp. Twenty elephants, four tigers, and 
two hundred of the most imposing animals of the east led the 
pompous procession. Sixteen hundred gladiators engaged in 
mortal combat in the amphitheater. The vast plunder of the 
armies, from the sack of oriental cities was ostentatiously 
paraded. An immense tnun of prisoners followed — slaves 
captured from Gaul, Spain, Germany, and all the nations of 
the east. Conspicuous among these, arresting every eye, was 
Tetricus, the insurgent chief of the west, and Zenobia, the de* 
fiant queen of the east. 

Zenobia, radiant in pensive beauty, and robed in the most 
gorgeous attire of the orient, walked fettered with chains of 
gold, and ahnost sinking beneath the weight of jewelry and 
precious stones. The gold chain which encircled her neck was 
so heavy that a slave supported a portion of it. The gorgeous 
chariot of the queen, empty, and drawn by Arabian chargers 
magnificently caparisoned, followed the captive. The tri- 
umphal car of Aurelian then appeared, harnessed to four stags. 
The senators, in their robes of office, the bannered army, and 
a vast concourse of the populace closed the procession. 

The emperor, however, treated the most distinguished of 
his captives very generously. Many of the maidens, after re* 
ceiving a finished education, were joined in honorable wedlock 



BAPID 8TBIDBB OF DBCLINB. 8tt 

to the generals of the aimies. Zeuobim was fJaced in the en 
joyment of an elegant villa at Tivoli, about twenty miles from 
Rome, with ample supplier for her wants. Even Tetricus was 
restored to his forfeited rank and fortune. He reared a mag- 
nificent palace on the Caelian hill, and invited the emperor to 
■up with hiuL They remained on the most friendly terms fo* 
the rest of life. 

But there was no peace for tumultuous Rome. One sedi 
ion within the walls was only quelled by the sacrifice of seven 
thousand of the imperial troops. Aurelian was terribly severe 
in discipline. The crudest tortures, and death in its most 
awful forms, did not touch his sympathies. Ever accustomed 
to war, he regarded life as of but tittle moment, and transferred 
the stem rule of the camp into all civil affiurs. His severities 
excited constant conspiracies, and the conspiracies led to new 
severities. The most illustrious men in Rome were sent to 
the block. The executioner was constantly busy, and the 
prisons were ever crowded. 

A few months after his great triumph, he again placed 
himself at the head of his armies, in a march upon Persia. 
He had arrived as far as the Thradan Bosphorus, when some 
of his principal officers, learning that they were doomed to 
death, fell upon him in his tent, and cut him down. He fought 
fiercely for his Hfe, but was overpowered. 

It is strange that any one should have been willing to ao 
oept the Roman scepter, since it so invariably led to assassina- 
tion. For two centuries, out of the great number of emperors, 
bu« uiree or four had died a natural death. The virtuous and 
the vidous, the mild and the severe, were alike doomed to a 
bloody end. The army adored Aurelian, and were deters 
mined that none of the conspirators should gain the throne. 
They therefore sent a deputation to the senate requesting that 
Auretian should be placed in the number of the gods, and that 
a successor should be chosen at Rome, worthy of the imperial 
purple. The senate detested Auretian, who had ruled then 



sis ITALY. 

with military rigor. They rejoiced to hear of his death, and 
were astonished and delighted at the deference, so unusual, with 
which they were treated by the army. But there was now no 
member of the senate who was willing to accept the crown. 
Three times the senate returned this answer, and three tunes 
the army reiterated its request. For nearly eight months, 
Rome was without a sovereign, and perhaps never before were 
the affairs of the empire better administered, since the efficient 
generals and magistrates Aurelian had appointed, still contin- 
ued in power. The Roman legions yet remained encamped 
upon the banks of the Bosphorus. 

But this state of things could not long continue. Intelli* 
gence reached Rome that a new flood of barbarians had swept 
across the Rhine, and were ravaging Gaul. The Persian mon- 
arch was also threatening all the east. There was a venerable 
senator, Tacitus, a descendant of the renowned historian, 
seventy-five years of age. He possessed vast wealth, had 
twice been consul, and his character was singularly pure, for 
those days of pollution. The voice of the people called loudly 
for Tacitus. Alarmed, he had sought the retirement of his 
viua. Being summoned to the senate, he was, with universal 
acclaim, greeted as Tacitus Augustus. He struggled to es- 
cape the dangerous honor. 

" Are these limbs," said he, " fitted to sustain the weight of 
armor, or to practice the exercises of the camp ? My exhaust- 
ed strength scarcely enables me to discharge the duties of a 
senator. Can you hope that the legions will respect a weak 
old man, whose days have been spent in the shade of peace 
and retirement ? Can you desire that I should ever find rea^ 
Bon to regret the favorable opinion of the senate ?" 

Tacitus was compelled to be emperor. The army demand- 
ed hib immediate presence. He hastened to the Bosphorus, 
put his troops in motion, and had arrived within about one 
hundred and fifty miles of the Euphrates, when he was mup 
dered by his soldiers, after a reign of seven months. 



BAPID BTBIDBB OF DBCLINB. 3f9 

The legions, now in Cappadooia, a province washed by the 
Baphrates, were not disposed to wait the tardy movements of 
of the senate, and immediately elected Probus, one of their 
gmerals, emperor. Probus was a soldier, and his reign was 
an incessant battle. The foes of Rome were numberless. lie 
led every assault; was ever the first to scale a rampart, or to 
break into the camp of the foe. After thus fighting for six 
years to drive back the enemy crowding upon the empire 
firom the east) the west, and the north, Probos died the 
natural death of the Roman sovereigns. A party of muti- 
neers rushed upon him as he was superintending the draining 
of a marsh, work which displeased them, and pierced him 
with a hundred daggers. 

The army looked quietly on as the aasasBinfl wiped thair 
bloody weapons, and then elected Cams, a captam of the 
guard, emperor, and simply sent word to the senate, in utter 
disr^ard of the prerogativee of that body, that the army had 
provided Rome with a soverdgn. Cams was an old, bald- 
headed man, and marshaling his troops for a campaign in the 
Bast, he declared that he would make Persia bare as his own 
fikulL The hardy soldier, in mid-winter, marched his troops 
through Thrace and Asia Minor, and reached the confines of 
Persia. The Persian monarch, alarmed, sent an ambassador 
to negotiate, if possible, a peace. The envoys, accustomed to 
the magnificence of oriental courts, were astonished to find 
the Roman emperor seated upon the grass, eating his suppei 
of cold bacon and peas. A coarse woolen garment, of purple 
dye, was the only external indication of his dignity. The 
demands of Cams were such that the Persians retired with* 
out coming to terms, and the Roman legions ravaged Mesopo- 
tamia mercilessly, extending their arms beyond the Tigris. 

As usual, a conspiracy was formed for the death of Cams. 
On the night of Christmas, a. b. 283, a fearful tempest arose. 
The mutineers, as the lightning was flashing along the sky, 
and peals of thunder shook the camp, rashed upon Cams, 



880 ITALY. 

r^osing in his tent, murdered him, set fire to the onrtainii 
and biimed his body in the flames of his own pavilion. Hie 
story was sent to Rome that the tent was struck by lightning, 
an indication that the gods wished the army to abandon the 
Persian enterprise and return to Romtb 



CHAPTER XXI. 

DIVISIONS OF THB BMPIRE. 

Fbom ▲. D. 283 TO A. Dl S30. 

OABvim Axo NmmiAH.— AiraoDOTB or Dioolbtiah.~H]s Aoobuon.— Aaqaoiovi 
ABEAHOnnnns. — Tbb Fovm Empbbobs.— Wabs or trs BABBAmiANS. — ^Thb Two 

NbW CAFTTAXJi, MiLAH AKB NlCOIIBDIA.~DBOA]>BIfOa Or ROMB.— AbDIOATION Or 
DlOGLBTIAN. — Hb RbTIBBMBITT AND DbATH. — Cc«BTANTniB AND C0N8TANTXNB.— 

Thb Oybbtobow or Maxbnttob, Maxxmin, and LioiNiut. — Constantinb Solb 
ExPBBOB.— Tbiumfb or Ghbutianitt otbb Pbb8boution.->Conbtantinb ADOm 
Chbibtianitt.— Byzantivm Gbanobd to Ck>HBTANnNOPLB.— Thb Obowtb and 
BpunfDOB or thb Citt. 

fTlHE army appointed the two BonB of Carus to the imperial 
-^ dignity. One of these, Carinus, was in Gaul. The other, 
Numerian, had accompanied his father to Persia. The sol- 
diers, weary of the distant war, insisted on being led back to 
Italy. Numerian, sick and suffering severely from inflamma- 
tion of the eyes, was compelled to yield to the demands of the 
troops. The army, by slow marches, retraced its steps, eight 
months being occupied in reaching the Bosphorus. Numerian 
was conveyed in a litter, shut up from the light, and he issued 
his daily orders through his mmister, Aper. He at length 
died, and Aper, concealing his death, continued, from the 
mipenal pavilion, to proclaim mandates to the army m the 
name of the invisible sovereign. They had already reached 
the Bosphorus, when the suspicions of the army were excited, 
and the soldiers, breaking into the regal tent, discovered the 
embalmed body of the emperor. Aper, accused of his mur- 
der, was seized and brought befbre a military tribunal. At 
the same time, with unanimous voice, the army chose Diocle- 
tian emperor, who was in command of the guard. Diocletian 



388 ITALY. 

was bom a slave — the child of slaves owned by a Romftn 
senator. Havmg attained his freedom, he had worked his- 
way to the highest posts in the army. Aper was brought 
before him for trial. This first act of his reign developed the 
promptness, the energy, and the despotism of Diocletian. As 
the accused was led in chains to the tribunal, Diocletian, 
looking upon him sternly and asking for no proof, said : 

" This man is the murderer of Numerian." 

Drawing his sword he plunged it into the prisoner's heart, 
and all the army applauded the deed. Carinus, the brother 
and colleague of Numerian was at Rcmie, rioting in the 
utmost voluptuousness of dissolute pleasures. Alarmed by the 
announcement of the election of Diocletian, he summoned an 
army and marched to meet him. The two rival emperors; at 
the head of their legions, confronted each other near Margus, 
a city of Moesia, on the lower Danube. In the heat of the 
battle a general of his own army, whose wife Carinus had 
seduced, watching his opportunity, with one blow of his mas- 
sive sword, struck the despicable emperor down in bloody 
death. 

Diocletian was now sole sovereign. Assassination was the 
doom which seemed to await every emperor. The first meas- 
ure of Diocletian was sagaciously adopted as a protection 
against this peril. He appointed as his colleague on the 
throne, Maximian, a general of most heroic bravery, but a 
man of lowly birth and exceedingly uncultivated in mind, and 
unpolished in manners. Both of these emperors assumed the 
title of Augustus, the highest title recognized in Rome. They 
had been intimate friends in private life, companions in many 
bloody battles, and they now devoted their energies to the 
support of each other on the throne, each conscious that 
the fall of one would only accelerate the ruin of the other. 
In this partnership Diocletian was the head, Maximian the 
sword ; they even assumed corresponding titles, the one that 
of Jupiter, the other Hercules. 



DIYIBIOKS OF THB BMPIBS. 888 

As an additional precaution, each of these emperors chose 
a Baccessor, to be associated with him in the govemmenti with 
the more humble title of CsBsar. Galerius was the assodate 
and appointed successor of Diocletian, and OonBtantios of 
Maximian. To strengthen the bonds of this union, each of 
these heirs to the throne were required to repudiate his former 
wife, and marry a daughter of the Augustus whose successor 
he was to be. There were thus four princes on the throne, 
bound together by the closest ties, and they divided the 
administration of the Roman empire between them. Gaul, 
Spain, and Britain were assigned to Constantius ; the Danu- 
bian provinces and Blyria were entrusted to Galerius. Maxi- 
mian took charge of Italy and Africa, while Diocletian as- 
sumed the sovereignty of Greece, Egypt, and Asia. Each 
one was undisputed sovereign in his own realms; while 
unitedly they administered the general interests of the whole 
empire. Several years were occupied in maturing this plan. 

But the world seemed to have conspired against the 
Roman empire. The Britons rose in successful rebellion, and 
through many a fierce battle maintained, for a time, thdr 
independence. Barbaric tribes seemed to blacken the shores 
of the Rhine and the Danube in their incessant incursions of 
devastation and plunder. Africa was in arms from the Nile 
to Mount Atlas, — the Moorish nations issuing, with irre- 
pressible ferocity, from their pathless deserts. And Persia 
was roused to new and herculean efforts to humble the heredi- 
tary enemy by whom she had so often been chastised. 

Maximian, who was regarded as the emperor of the west, 
selected Milan for his capital, it being more conveniently 
situated at the foot of the Alps, for him to watch the motion 
uf the barbarians on the Danube and the Rhine. Milan thus 
rose rapidly to the splendor of an imperial city. 

Diocletian chose for his. residence Nicomedia, in Bithynia, 
on the Asiatic coast of the sea of Marmora, and he endeavored 
•▼en to eclipse the grandeur of Rome, in the oriental mag- 



884 ITALY. 

nificenoe with whicli ne embellished hie Asiatic capital. The 
two subordidate emperors, who were Gmsar only, not Afi' 
giiatus, were practically goremers of provinces and generak 
of the armies. 

A large portion of the imperial life, both of Diocletian 
and Maximian, was spent in camps. Rome was hardly known 
to them. In the brief respites from war they retired to thdr 
palaces in Nicomedia and Milan. Indeed, it is said that Dio- 
cletian never visited Rome, until in the twentieth year of his 
reign, he repaired to the ancient capital to celebrate, with 
gorgeous triumph, a great victory over the Persians. Diocle- 
tian ambitiously surrounded himself with all the stately mag- 
nificence of the Persian court. He robed himself in the most 
sumptuous garments of silk and gold, and wore a diadem 
set with pearls, an ornament which Rome had hitherto de- 
tested as luxurious and effeminate. Even his shoes were 
studded with precious gems. Eunuchs guarded the interior 
of the palace. All who were admitted to the presence of the 
emperor were obliged to prostrate themselves before him, and 
to address him with the titles of the Divinity. These innova- 
tions were introduced, not for the gratification of vanity, but 
as a protection from the rude license of the people, whidi 
exposed the sovereign to assassination. 

Guided by the same principle, Diocletian multiplied the 
agents of the government, by greatly dividing every branch of 
the civil and military administration. Diocletian was, so to 
speak, the supreme emperor. He had selected Maximian to 
be associated with him as Augustus, and had also chosen 
Constantius and Galerius as subordinate emperors, with the 
title of Caesar, to succeed to the imperial purple. The mind 
of Diocletian was the primal element in the administration. 
He intended this arrangement to be perpetual, — ^two elder 
princes wearing the diadem as Augustus, two younger, as 
Caesar, aiding in the administration and prepared to succeed. 
8ndi an array of power would discourage any attiring gun- 



DiyiBIONB OF THB BMP IBS. S85 

&ni^ who otherwise, by assassinatioii, might hope to attain 
the orown. To support this splendor and to meet the ex- 
penses of the incessant wars with the barbarians, from whom 
no plmider could be obtained, by way of reprisal, he burdened 
the state with taxaticm whidi doomed the laboring classes to 
the most abject poverty. 

In the twenty-first year of his reign, Diocletian, then 
fifty-nine years of age, abdicated the empire. He was led to 
this by long and severe illness, which so enfeebled him that 
he was quite unable to sustain the toils and cares of govern- 
ment. Weary of conducting the administration from a bed 
of sickness and pain, he resolved to seek retirement and 
repose. About three miles from the city of Nicomedia there 
is a spacious phun, which the emperor selected for the cere- 
mony of his abdication. A lofty throne was erected, upon 
which Diodetian, pale and emaciate, in a dignified speech, 
announced to the immense multitude he had assembled there^ 
his refflgnation of the diadem. Ttien laying aside the impe- 
rial vestments, he entered a closed chariot, and repaired to a 
rural retreat he had selected at Salona, in his native province 
of Dalmatia, on the Gredan shore of the Adriatic sea. On 
the same day, which was May 1, a. d. 805, Maximian, by 
previous concert, also abdicated at Iffilan. He was constrained 
to this act by the ascendency which the imperial mind of 
Diocletian had obtained over him. Maximian, in vigorous 
health and martial in his tastes, found retirement very irk- 
some, and urged his weary and more philosophic colleague to 
resume the reins of government. Diocletian replied : 

^ Oould you but see the fine cabbages in my garden, which 
I have planted and raised with my own hands, you would not 
ask me to relinquish such happiness for the pursuit of power.'* 

But, notwithstanding Dioceletian's memorable speech 
about the cabbages, all the appliances of opulence and splendor 
w ir p oun ded him in his retreat. He had selected the spot with 
an eye of an artist; and when in possession of the revenues 

X7 



386 ITALY. 

of the Romon empire, he devoted many years in rearing an 
imperial castle, suitable for one who had been accustomed, for 
neaily a quarter of a century, to more than oriental magnifi- 
cence. From the portico of the palace, a view was spread out 
of wonderful beauty, combining the most extensive panorama 
of mountains and valleys, while a bay creeping in from the 
Adriatic sea, studded with picturesque islands, presented the 
aspect of a secluded and tranquil lake. But even here, in this 
most lovely of earthly retreats, man's doom of sorrow pur- 
sued the emperor ; and domestic griefs of the most afflictive 
character, blighted the bloom of his arbors and parterres, and 
darkened his saloons. 

Ten acres were covered by this palace, which was con- 
Btmcted of free-stone, and flanked with sixteen towers. The 
principal entrance was denominated the golden gate, and 
jjorgeou:: temples were reared in honor of the pagan gods, 
^sculapius and Jupiter, whom Diocletian ostentatiously ador- 
ed. The most exquisite ornaments of painting and sculpture 
embellished the architectural structure, the saloons, and the 
grounds. The death of Diocletian is shrouded in mystery. 
It is simply known that the most oppressive gloom and re- 
morse shadowed his declining years ; but whether his death 
was caused by poison, which he prepared for himself, or which 
was administered by another, or whether he fell a victim to 
disease, can now never be known. 

The two Caesars, Constantius and Galerius, now became 
Augusti, and were invested with the imperial insignia. The 
division of the empire into the east and the west became still 
more marked ; the morning sun rising upon the oriental prov- 
inces of Galorius, and its evening rays falling upon the ocoir 
dental realms of Constantius. Two new Caesars were now 
needed to occupy the place of those who had ascended to the 
imperial government. Galerius chose his: nephew, a rustic 
youth, to whom he entrusted the government of Egypt aocl 



DITI8ION8 OT THS SMPIBX. 

BffbL OoMtantine, the boo of ConstantinB, was appointed aa 
the aasodate and suooessor of his fiither. 

A rerolt in Britain called for the presence of Gonttantiiia. 
ffia son aooompanied him. Here Ccmstantioa was taken sick, 
and died fifteen months after he had reoeived the title of An- 
gustos. Constantino immediately snoceeded him. Galeriaa 
did not cheerfuHj acquiesce in this arrangement, but Constan* 
tine, at the head of the army of Britain was too powerftd (o 
be opposed. Constantine was then thirty-two years of age. 
Italy had thus &r been eleyated in rank and privileges above 
the remote provinces of the empire; and the Roman cUtgens^ 
for ^ve hundred years, had been exempted from taxation, the 
burdens of state bdng borne by the subjugated nations. But 
the exigences of the impoverished empire were now such that 
Galerius, from his palace in Nicomedia, issued orders for nunb 
bering, even the proud citizens of Rome itself, and taxing 
them with all the rest. 

M aximian, who had been exceedingly restless in the rotraal 
to which his reluctant abdication had consigned him, hoped to 
take advantage of the disaffection in Rome to grasp the scep- 
ter again, notwithstanding the efforts of Oalerios to place 
Severus, one of his partisans, in power there. Maximian and 
Severus soon met on the field of battle, and the latter being 
vanquished, was doomed to die, being allowed merely to 
ehoose the manner of his death. He opened his veins, and 
quietly passed away. Maximian had previously ^ven his 
daughter in marring to Constantine, hoping thus to secure his 
oo5peration. Leaving his son Maxentius as acting emperor in 
Rcmie, he set out for Britain, to meet Constantine. 

Oalerius. enraged, gathered an army, and marched upon 
Italy to avenge the death of Severus, and to chastise the rebet 
b >us Romans. 

*^I will extirpate,*' he exclaimed in his wrath, ^both the 
oenate and the people, by the aword." 

Constantme was in Britain, bat Maximian was a foe hoc 



S88 ITALY. 

easily to he vanqnished. Galerius fought bis way slowly to 
within sixty miles of Rome ; but, hedged in on all sides, be 
could advance no farther. His perils hourly increasing, with 
extreme mortification he was compelled to order a retreat. 
Burning with rage, Galerius commenced his backward march, 
inflicting every conceivable outrage upon the Italian people. 
BBs soldiers plundered, ravished, murdered. Flocks and herds 
were driven away, cities and villages burned, and the country 
reduced to a smoldering desert. Galerius invested Licinius 
and Maximin with imperial powers, the one in lUyrioum, and 
the other in Egypt, and thus there were now six emperors, 
each claiming the equal title of Augustus. 

Maximian was now on his way to Britain, to the court of 
Oonstantine, to arrange a coalition. Constantino was suddenly 
summoned to the Rhine, by an incursion of the Franks. Max- 
imian, at Aries, near the mouth of the Rhone in Gaul, where 
much treasure had been accumulated, took advantage of the 
absence of Oonstantine to endeavor to excite a mutiny in his 
own favor. With wonderftd celerity Constantino turned upon 
him, pursued him to Marseilles, took him captive, and allowed 
him the same privilege which ho had allowed to Severus — ^to 
ohoose his mode of death. The old emperor, who was i&ther 
of the wife of Constantino, opened his veins, and sank into the 
tomb. 

Galerius, retired from his unsuccessful campaign in Italy to 
his palaces in Nicomedia, where he indulged unrestrained, for 
four years, in that licentiousness and debauchery common to 
nearly all the Roman emperors. He became bloated and cor- 
pulent. Ulcers broke out over his whole body, and at length 
he died^ a loathsome mass of corruption. He had ferociously 
persecuted the Christians during his whole reign, and by them 
his awful death was regarded as a Divine visitation. As soon 
as his dfiiath was announced, Maximin and Licinius divided his 
empire between them, the former taking the Asiatic, and th6 
btter the European portion. 



BITI8ION8 OT THX SMPIBB. 8M 

Tliere were now four emperors regarding each other witb 
a strong spirit of rivalry. Constantine in Britain and Oanl? 
Maxentins in Italy; Lidnins in Macedonia and Qreeoe; and 
Marimin in Asia. Constantine was r^iowned for his g^itie- 
manly character, and his humane spirit : and yet, after a grenfl 
▼ictory over the Franks and the Alcmani, he entertained the 
people of Treves by throwing the captive princes into the am- 
phitheater, to be torn to pieces by wild beasts ; and so bar* 
barons were the times, that this act was not then deemed in* 
consistent with generority and mercy. 

Maxentins, in Rome, was one of the most odious of tyrants. 
The Christians soflfored fearfully under his reign, and history 
has preserved the name of one noble Christian matron, Sophro- 
nia, wife of the prefect of the city, who, to esci^ the violence 
of Maxentius, plunged a dagger into her own heart. The 
tyrant filled Rome with troops, and purdiased their fiivor by 
indulging them in the most unbounded license. With Rome 
fbr his capital, he assumed to be solo emperor, r^arding the 
other emperors as his subordinates. Open collision soon arose 
between Maxoitius and Constantine. Maxentius had under 
his command a very formidable force, amounting to one hun- 
dred and seventy thousand foot, and dgfateen thousand horse. 
Constantine, at the head of but forty thousand troops, marched 
to attack him. Constantino, however, was well assured of the 
secret sympathy in his behalf, both of the senate, and the peo- 
ple of Rome. 

Marching from Gaul, Constantine crossed the great Alpine 
barrier by what is now called the pass of Mount Cenis, and 
had deecended into the phdns of Piedmont, before Maxentius 
had rei>eived tidings of his departure from Gaul. He took 
Suza by storm. Sweeping resisUessly along, Turin and Milan, 
after fierce batties, fell into his hands. He was now within 
four hundred m3es of Rome, and a magnificent road, through 
a rich country, invited his march. 

His number of jprimxaam became so great, that chains 



SM ITALY. 

needed to shaclde them ; and a vast number of smiths were 
raoiplojed m hammering the swords of the vanquished into 
fetters. With wonderful celerity he pressed forward, sur- 
mounting all opposition, until he arrived at a place called 
Saxa Rubra, within nine miles of Rome, where he found 
Maxentius intrenched in great force. His army, in long 
array, reached even to the banks of the Tiber. The defeat 
of Maxentius was entire, and the carnage of his troops awfuL 
Maxentius himself, in attempting to escape across the MUvian 
bridge, was crowded into the river, and, from the weight of 
his armor, instantly sank to the bottom. His body, the next 
day, was dragged from the mud, and, being decapitated, the 
ghastly head was exposed to the rejoicing people. 

Constantino, thus decisively victorious, entered the dty in 
triumph. The pliant senate gathered around him in homage, 
and assigned him the first rank among the three remaining 
Augtbstiy then sharing the dominion of the world. Games 
were instituted, and a triumphal arch was reared to his honor, 
which still remains. Rome was fallen so low that the arch 
of Trajan was shameftdly despoiled of its ornaments, that 
they might be transferred to the arch of Constantino. Con- 
stantino suppressed the Pretorian guard forever, and utterly 
destroyed their camp. He remained two months in Rome, 
consolidating his power. He also negotiated an alliance with 
Licioius, the Blyrian emperor, conferring upon him his sister 
Constantia in marriage. 

Maximin, in Asia, alarmed by this coalition of the two 
European emperors, in dead of winter marched from the heart 
of Syria, crossed the Thracian Bosphorus, captured Byzan- 
tium, now Constantinople, after a siege of eleven days, and 
met Liciuius, at the head of seventy thousand troops, near 
Ueraclea, about fifty miles west of Byzantium. In a terrible 
battle the army of Maximin was almost annihilated, and the 
Syrian monarch, pale with rage and despair, fled with such 
eelerity, that in twenty-four hours he entered Nicomediai one 



DITI8IOK8 OF THB SMPIBB. Stl 

kimcbed and sixty miles from the field of battle. There he 
soon died, whether from despair, or poison which his own 
hand had mingled, is not known. There were now two 
emperors left, Constantino and Licinias. The provinces of 
the East accepted licinias, and thus the Roman empire 
became again divided into the eastern and the western. 
Maximin left two children; a son eight years of age, and 
a daughter sevoi. Licinius, with Roman mercilessness, put 
Uiem both to death. All the other relativeR. who could in 
any possible way endanger the sway of Licinius, were also, 
with the most reloitless cruelty, consigned to the executioner. 

Hardly a year now elapsed ere Constantino and LiciniuB 
turned their arms against each other. ladnius was tyrannical 
and perfidious; Constantine insatiately aspiring. Sirmium, on 
the river Save, not &r from its confluence with the Danube, 
was the capital of the vast province of Dlyricum. On the 
banks of the Save, fifty miles above Sirmium, at Cibalis, the 
two emperors met in hostile array. It was the eighth of 
October, a. d. 316. The battle raged from dawn till dark; 
and then Lidnius, leaving twoity thousand of his men dead 
upon the field, in the night retreated, abandoning his camp 
and all his magasines. Constantine pursued. Licinius, accu- 
mulating recruits as he fied, again made a stand on the plain 
of Mardia, in Thrace. Again they fought from the earliest 
ray of the morning until night darkened the field. Again 
Licinius was worsted, and he continued his flight toward the 
mountains of Macedonia. He now sued for peace. Constan- 
tine consented to leavo him in conmiand of Thrace, Aa» 
Minor, Syria, and Egypt, but wrested from him Illyricum, 
Dalmada, Da^ Macedonia, and Oreece, which were all 
attached to the western empire. Thrace was the only foot> 
hold which Lieinius held in Europe. 

AfSdrs thus remained in comparative tranquillity for about 
eight years, during whidi time Constantine devoted himself 
v«ry assiduously to the government of his vast empire. 



iOfi ITALY. 

Constantke, with his empire firmlj established, and fan 
armies thoroughly disciplined, was no longer disposed, to 
endure a partner in the empire, and he found no difficulty in 
^' picking a quarrel " with Lioiniiis, now infirm with age, dis- 
eolnte, tyrannical, and execrated. But the old man developed 
unexpected and amazing energy. He speedily assembled, <hi 
the fields of Thrace, an army of one hundred and fifty thous- 
and foot, and fifteen thousand horse. The straits of the Bos- 
porus and the Hellespont were filled with his fleet, consisting 
of three hundred and fifty galleys of three banks of oars. 

Oonstantine rendezvoused his army of one hundred and 
twenty thousand horse and foot, in the highest discipline, at 
Thessalonica, in Macedonia. In the celebrated harbor of 
PirsBus he had a fleet of two hundred transports. licinins 
intrenched himself at Adrianople, in the heart of Thraoe, 
about two hundred miles northeast from Thessalonica, and 
awaited the attack of his foe. They soon met. The disciplin- 
ed legions of Constantino trampled the eastern legions of li- 
dnius in the dust, and in a few hours thirty-four thousand of 
the soldiers of Lidnius were silent in death. The remainder 
fled wildly. The fortified camp fell into the hands of the 
victor, and Licinius, putting spurs to his horse, hardly looked 
behind him till he found himself within the walls of Byzan- 
tium. 

The siege of the city was immediately commenced. It 
had been fortified with the utmost skill which the military art 
of that day could suggest, and the wealth of an empire oould 
execute. After a long and cruel siege the city capitulated* 
One final battle was fought on the Asiatic shore, near the 
heights of Scutari, and Licinius fled to Nicomedia without an 
army and powerless. His wife, Oonstantia, sister of Oonstan- 
tine, pleaded so earnestly with her brother for her husband, that 
the conqueror, after subjecting Licinius to the most humiliat- 
mg acts of homage, allowed him to retire to a retreat of pow 
erlessnes8» but of lux^iry, in Thessalonica Here he was soon 



DITItlOKS OV THS SMPtBB. MS 

Moused of meditating treason, and was pat to death. Thus 
was the Roman empire again united under cue emperor, and 
Constantine remained sole monarch of what was then oa^^ed 
the world. 

Constantine now adopted the memorable resolve to estab- 
lish Christianitj on a stable foundation as the honored religion 
of the empire. The doctrines and precepts of our Saviour 
had thoroughly undermined the old pagan superstitions, and, 
notwithstanding the most bloody persecutions, Christianity had 
at length attained such supremacy that, by an imperial decree, 
tlie banners of the cross were unfurled over the ruined tem- 
ples of Greece and Rome. 

During the first two centuries Christianity spread over the 
whole region between the Euphrates and the Ionian sea, and 
flourishing churches were established in all the principal cities. 
Under nearly all the emperors the Christians were persecuted, 
sometimes legally, sometimes iUegally, now with blind, frantic, 
indiscriminate fury, and now under the semblance of modera- 
tion and cahn judicial process. All conceivable forms of ter- 
ror were brought to operate against them. They were driven 
into exile, torn to pieces by wild beasts, beheaded on the 
block, and burnt at the stake. Several of the emperors ex- 
erted all the power with which the scepter invested them, for 
the utter extermination of the Christians. Historians have 
generally enumerated ten persecutions of peculiar malignity. 

The city ot Kome had been gradually losing its ascendency, 
and Diocletian had reared Nicomedia into a capital almost 
rivaling Rome in opulence and splendor. Constantine, the 
child of camps, and whose life had been spent almost wholly 
in the remote provinces of the empire, had no especial attach 
ment for the imperial city, and he was ambitious of rearing a 
new capital, occupying a more central spot in his vast empire, 
and which should also bear and immortalize his name. With 
sagacity whicn nas never been questioned, he selected for this 



S94 ITALY. 

purpose Bysantium, and gave it the name of Constantmo|46 
or the city of Constantine. 

The imperial dty, enjoying the most salnbrious clime, sor- 
romided by realms of inexhaustible fertility, occupying an 
eminence which commanded an extensive view of the shores 
of Europe and of Asia; with the Bosphorus on the north, and 
the Dardanelles on the south, fortified gates which no for 
0i>nld penetrate, with a harbor spacious, and perfectly secure, 
and with the approaches on the side of the continent easy of 
defense, presented to the sagacious Constantine a site foi the 
metropolis of universal dominion, all unrivaled. The wealth, 
eneigy, and artistic genius of the whole Roman empire were 
immediately called into requisition, to enlarge and beautify the 
new metropolis. The boundaries of the city were marked out, 
fourteen miles in circumference. It is said that a sum amount- 
ing to twelve millions of dollars, was expended in walls and 
public improvements. The forests which then frowned almost 
unbroken along the shores of the Euxine, and a fine quarry of 
white marble in a neighboring island, afforded an inexhaust* 
ible supply of materials. 

The imperial palace, rivaling that of Rome, in its courtSi 
gardens, porticos, and baths, covered many acres. The an- 
cient cities of the empire, including even Rome itself, were 
despoiled of their most noble families, to add luster to the new 
metropolis. Magnificent mansions were reared for them, and 
wide domains assigned for the support of their dignity ; and 
though Constantinople never fully equaled Rome in popula- 
tion, dignity, and splendor, it soon became without dispvta 
the second city in the world. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE EMPIBE DI8MEMBEBED. 

Fbom a. d. 330 to ▲. d. 375. 

OomTAMTimnD Gbbat.— D1YCR8ITT of Vixws RMPBornitf Him.~Tbb Tba«i»t 

OVCriSPUS and FaUSTA. -DBATB OV CONgTAMTim.— TBIPLB DinSION OVTHB 

BMPiRB.—Taiirxpaov Const ANTuis otsr his Bbothibs.— 8tbu««i*b wim 
Maonsntius.— Fatal Battlb ov Mubsa.— Fatb of Gallub.— Aocsmion aitd 
AFoeTACT OF Juuan.—Hm Scholarly Charactrb.— Dithlophwits of 
Bnbbst.— Hu War ik Oaul.— Sblrotion of Paris fob his Cafitazk—His 

MbLAXOHOLT DbaTH.^RbTRBAT of the ArMT.— ChOIOI of YALBNTINLijr.^ 

V4um HIS AssooiATB.— AocuHULATiiia Wabb.~Dbath of VAuniTiiiiAir. 

lyrO man has ever been more warmly applauded, or more 
^^ venomously condemned than Constantine, sumamed the 
Great. And though fifteen centuries have passed away since 
he disappeared from life's busy arena, his character is still the 
subject of the most bitter denunciation, and of the most lofty 
panegyric 

By nature Constantine was enriched with the choicest en- 
dowments. In person he was majestic and gracefVd, with fea* 
tores of the finest mold. Either from natural felicity of tem- 
perament, or from his own powers of self-restraint, during all 
Ub reign he preserved, to a wonderM degree, the virtues of 
chastity and temperance. In mental capacity he was both 
acute and comprehensive, having gathered from books and 
travel a vast fund of information. He possessed great capa- 
Inlities of endurance, physical and intelleotual. In the field he 
displayed alike the bravery of the soldier, and the talents of 
the general. Fully conscious of his superior abilities, with 
boundless resources at his command, and warmly sustained by 
the popular voice, he commenced and pursued a career tc 
wbidi we with difficulty find a paralleL 



8M ITALY. 

The execntion of the emperor's son Crisj*us, and of his seo 
ond wife Faiista, was one of those appalling and awful events 
which will probably ever be involved in some degree of ob- 
scurity. So far as we can coUect the facts, from the exceed- 
ingly unsatisfactory and contradictory accounts, they were 
these. Fausta, an exceedingly beautiful woman, and muuij 
younger than her husband, fell in love with Crispus, the son 
of Constantine's former wife, and a prince of remarkable at- 
tractions, and who had imbibed the Christian views of his 
teacher Lactantius. Fausta, in accordance with the spirit of 
pagan Rome, which never revolted from any crime of this na> 
ture, after earnest efforts at the seduction of her son-in-law, 
made an open confession to him of her desires. Crispus repel- 
led her, as Joseph did the wife of Potiphar. In confirmation 
of the sentiment that 

^ Hell has no ftiry like a woman scorned,'* 

Fausta, in her rage, fled to the emperor, declaring that 
Crispus had made violent attempts upon her virtue. Con- 
Stan tine, in the blindness of his jealousy and indignation, 
condemned the innocent prince to death. Circumstances 
soon after revealing the truth of the case, in remorse and 
despair he sentenced Fausta to be stifled in her bath. Some 
others who were her accomplices in the foul accusation per- 
ished with her. It is said that from the gloom of these 
events Constantine never recovered. For forty days he fasted 
and mourned bitterly, denying himself all the ordinary com- 
forts of life. He erected a golden statue to Crispus, with 
this inscription : 

" To my son whom I m^ustly condemned.** 

The death of Crispus, perhaps, bound the imperial father 
xnore closely to lis surviving sons. He resolved to divide the 
empire betweei them, at his death; and he gave them all the 
title of CaBsar. He placed them under the most celebrated 



TBS SMPIBS DISM VMBBRBD. 39f 

profesflors of the Christian faith, and of aD Greek and Roman 
learning. Constantino had been trained in the school of hard* 
ships. His sons, from the cradle, were accustomed to luxury, 
were surrounded with flatterers, and anticipated the throne as 
their hereditary right. To train them to the cares of gOTem- 
ment, the eldest son, Constantine, was sent to Gaul, the seoond 
Constantius to Asia, and the third, Constans, was entrusted 
with the administration of Italy and Africa. Constantine, the 
fiither, reserved for himself the title of Augustus, conferrmg 
upon his sons only that of Ciesar. Two nephews, Dalmatius 
and Hannibalianns were also raised to the title of princes^ 
and inyested with distinct commands. 

After a reign of singular prosperity, continuing for nearly 
thhrty-one years, Constantine, in the sixty^fourth year of his 
age, died, in one of his rural palaces in the suberbs of Nico- 
media. On his dying bed he sought the consolations of that 
Christian faith which he had ever politically favored, and was 
then baptized as a disciple of Jesus, thus professing a personal 
mterest in the redemption our Saviour has purchased. His 
funeral was attended with all the pageantry which Roman 
power could suggest and execute. 

The three sons of Constantine divided the reahn to suit 
themselves. Constantine, the eldest, with the recognition of 
some slight preeminence in rank, established himself at Con- 
stantinople, in command of the central provinces. Constan- 
tius took charge of the eastern, and Constans of the western 
realms. The new emperors were all dissolute young men, of 
the several ages of twenty-one, twenty, and seventeen years. 

The death of Constantine the Great was the signal for 
war. Persia, under the leadership of Sapor, endeavored to 
throw off the Roman yoke, and Constantius found it necessary 
immediately to relinquish the voluptuousness of his palace for 
the hardships of the camp on the plains of Mesopotamia. Tbe 
OBual Boenes of Uood and misery ensued, as the hostile armies^ 



398 ITALY. 

now in surgiug waves of yictory, and now in the reflnenl 
billows of defeat, swept the doomed land. 

While Constantius, the second brother, was thus battling 
on the fields of Mesopotamia, Constantine, the elder, was 
preparing to rob his younger brother, Constans of his impe- 
rial patrimony. Breaking through the Oarnac or Julian Alps, 
he invaded Yenetia, in Italy. Constans, who was then in 
Uacia, north of the Danube, three hundred miles distant, 
detached a division of his army, which he followed in person, 
lured Constantine into an ambuscade, surrounded and killed 
him, and attached all his domains, with Constantinople, to 
his own realms. He thus became the undisputed sovereign 
of two thirds of the Roman empire. Constans was still but 
a boy, with but little ability and abundant self-conceit. His 
incompetency excited contempt. 

An ambitious soldier, named Magnentius, of barbarian 
extraction, conspired against him. On the occasion of a feast, 
in the city of Autun, subsequently renowned as the seat of 
the bishopric of Talleyrand, which feast was protracted until 
the hour of midnight, the conspiracy was consummated. On 
a sadden, in the midst of the carousal, the doors were thrown 
open, and Magnentius presented himself, arrayed in the impe- 
rial purple. There was a moment's pause, as of consternation, 
and then the whole assembly, with enthusiasm, wild and in- 
flamed by wine and wassail, greeted the usurper with the 
titles of Augustus and emperor. The soldiers were rallied, 
and they took the oath of fidelity ; the gates of the city were 
closed, and the banner of the new emperor floated over the 
citadeL 

Constans was at the time absent on a hunting excursion in 
a neighboring forest. He heard at the same moment of the 
conspiracy, and of the defection of his guard, which left him 
utterly powerless. Putting spurs to his horse, he endeavored 
to reach the sea shore, but was overtaken at Helena, now 
Elne, at the foot of the Pyrenees, and was instantly put to 



THS SMPIBS DI8MSMBBRSD. SM 

death. AH the provinces of the west acknowledged Hagnen 
tins. The tidings soon reached Constantius, on the phiins of 
Mesopotamia. Leaying his lieutenants to conduct the warfiore 
there, with a strong division of his army he turned his stqM 
toward Italy. But in the meantime, the powerful army, ever 
encamped on the banks of the Danube, in co5peration with 
Magnentius, appointed their renowned general, Vetranio asso* 
ciate emperor. Again the whole Roman empire was agitated 
with preparations for the most desperate civil war. 

As soon as Constantius reached Illyricum on the frontiers 
of Italy, he sagaciously made propositions to Vetranio, that 
he would' acknowledge him as associate emperor if he would 
abandon the cause of Magnentius and ally himself with Con- 
stantius. Basely the venal general accepted the bribe, and 
wheeled his whole army of twenty thousand horse, and sev- 
eral legions of infimtry into the lines of Constantius. The 
soldiers blended in enthusiastic fraternization, mtertwining 
their banners, and causing the jJains of Sardinia to resound 
with the cries of " Long live Constantius." 

Constantius, however, having thus gained the army of 
Vetranio, and conscious of his ability to reward it, so that 
there shoidd be no fear of defection, at once relieved Vetranio 
of all the cares of empire, and sent him immediately into 
luxurious exile. A magnificent palace was assigned him at 
Pmsa, in Bithynia. He was sumptuously provided with 
every luxury, and was there left to ^' fiitten like a pig" until 
he died. 

Magnentius, a bold and determined soldier, was a veiy 
different foe to encounter. Though Constantius had now b 
fkt the most powerfhl army, Magnentius was in every respeo 
his superior, intellectually, physically, and morally. The two 
emperors marched eagerly to meet each other, neither of them 
teluctant to submit the question to the arbitrament of batUe. 

On the twenty-eighth of September the hostile armies 
were concentrated before the dty of Mursa, now callr 



400 ITALT. 

Esseg, in Sclavonla, on the Drave, aboat ten miles fh>m Its 
embouchure into the Danube. Gonstantius, fully aware of 
the military superiority of his antagonist, after earnestly 
addressing his troops, wisely, but not very heroically, retired 
to a church at a safe distance from the field, and left the 
conduct of the decisive day to his veteran generals. 

A more fierce and sanguinary battle was perhaps never 
fought. All the day long the hideous carnage continued — 
Romans and barbarians, with gladiatorial sinews, blending in 
the strife. The air was darkened with stones, arrows, and 
javelins. Clouds of horsemen, glittering in their scaly armor, 
like statues of steel, swept the field, breaking the ranks, cut- 
ting down the fugitives, and trampling alike the wounded and 
the dead beneath their iron feet. Night alone terminated the 
strife. The army of Magnentius, overpowered by numbers, 
was almost annihilated. Fifty-four thousand were left dead 
npon the plain. But they had sold their lives dearly, for a 
still greater number of the legions of Constantius slept gory 
and lifeless at their sides. Nearly one hundred and twenty 
thousand men, the veteran soldiers of the Roman empire, 
perished in this one battle. Thus did Rome, in civil strife, 
devour her own children, and open the way for the nu&rch of 
barbarian bands. 

Magnentius, in the darkness of the night, casting away his 
imperial ornaments, mounted a fleet horse, and, accompanied 
by a few friends, attempted to escape directly west toward 
the Julian Alps. He reached the city of Aquileia, at the head 
of the Adriatic sea, not far from the present city of Trieste. 
Here, in the midst of mountain defiles and pathless morasses, 
he made a brief pause, and collected around him all the troops 
who yet remained fiiithful. But city after city in Italy aban- 
doned his cause, and raised the banner of the victorious Con* 
stantius. He then fled to Gaul. But Constantius directed all 
the energies of the empire in the pursuit. At length Magnen« 
Uus, henuned in on every side, fell upon his own sword, and 



THB BMPIBB DI8MBMBBBBD* 401 

ihuH obtuned a more easy and honorable death than he oould 
hope for from his foe. Thus was the whole Roman empire 
bronght again mider the sway of a single sovereign, and Con- 
Btantios, the son of Constantine, reigned without a rival from 
the western shores of Britain to the banks of the Tigris, and 
from the unexplored realms of Central Germany to the dark 
mterior of Africa. 

There were still living two nephews of Constantine tbe 
Great, Gallns and Julian. Constantius r^;arded them witl 
great jealousy, and for several years had kept them« undei 
careful surveillance, exiled in a remote dty in Bithynia. Ais 
they advanced toward manhood, he watched them with m- 
ereasing apprehension, and imprisoned them in a fitrong 
oastle near Csesarea. The castle had formeriy been a palace, 
and was provided with all the appliances of luxury, in the 
way of spacious saloons and indosed gardens. Here the 
young princes were placed under the care of able teachers, 
and were tlioroughly instructed in all the learning of the dav. 

Still their hours passed heavily along in loneliness and 
(^oom. They were deprived of their fortune, their liberty^ 
their birthright as princes. They could Qot pass the walls of 
the castle, and could enjoy only such society as the tyrant 
would allow them. When Gallus, the elder of the two, had 
attained his twenty-fifth year, Eusebins, the emperor, invested 
him with the title of CsBsar, thus constituting him heir to the 
throne ; and at the same time united him in marriage to the 
princess Constantina. Constantius, having consummated this 
arrangement, went to the west to superintend the administra 
taon there, leaving Gallus to take up his residence at Antioch, 
as viceroy of the eastern empire. Gallus inunediately released 
Us younger brother Julian, and invested him with rank and 
dignity. 

Gallus and his wife Constantina developed characters which 
assirailate \hem to demons. Instruments of death and torture 
filled the dHA^peons of their palace, and scenes of woe ensued 



402 ITALY. 

which can only be revealed when the arch-angePs tramp shall 
Bummon the world to judgment. Constantina died of a fever. 
The emperor resolved to dispatch Gallas to seek her in the 
world of spirits. With treacherous professions of affection he 
lured Gallus on a journey to visit him in his imperial residence 
at Milan. Just as Gallus was approaching the frontiers of 
Italy he was seized, carried to Pola, in Istria, and there, with 
his hands tied behind him, was beheaded, a fate he richly mer 
ited. A band of soldiers was sent to arrest Julian. He was 
taken a captive to Milan, where he was imprisoned seven 
months, in the daily expectation of meeting the doom of his 
brother. 

In this severe school of adversity Julian acquired firmness 
of character and much sagacity. Through the intercession of 
Eusebia, the wife of Constantius, the life of Julian was spar- 
ed, and he was sent to honorable exile in the city of Athens. 
Here he spent six months in the groves of the Academy, 
engaged in the study of Greek literature, peculiarly congenial to 
his tastes, and associating with the most accomplished scholars 
of the day. By the execution of Gallus, the emperor Con- 
stantius was left with no partner to share the toil of empire. 
The Goths were again deluging Gaul. Other bands were 
crossing the Danube where there was no longer any force 
sufficient to repel them. The Persian monarch also, elated 
with recent victories, was ravaging the eastern provinces of 
the empire. 

Constantius was bewildered with these menaces which he 
knew not how to face, and listening to the advice of the empress 
Eusebia, he consented to give his sister Helena in marriage to 
Julian, and then to appoint him, with the title of Csdsar, to 
administer the government on the other side of the Julian 
Alps. The young prince received the investiture of the pur- 
ple in Milan, on the day he attained the twenty-fifth year of 
his age. Still he was wa ched with such jealousy by Constai^ 



THB BMPIBB DISMBMBBBBD. 40S 

tfufl, that for some time he was detiuned, rigidly oapttve, in 
the palace of Milan. 

Constantiiis embraced this opportmiitj to visit the an* 
cient capital of Rome, which had now become comparatively 
provincial from its desertion by the court. Approaching the 
dty along the i^Rhnilian and Flaminian ways, he assumed the 
triumph of a conqueror. A splendid train of troops, in glitr 
tering armor, accompanied him, waving silken banners em- 
broidered with gold, and enlivening the march with bursts of 
music. As the procession entered the streets of the imperial 
city, Rome was overjoyed in beholding this revival of its 
ancient splendor. Constantius expressed much surprise in 
view of the inmiense population of the city, and, surrounded 
by such acclaim as had never greeted him before, took up his 
residence in the palace of Augustus, which had entertained no 
imperial guest for thirty-two years. 

He remained but one month, admiring the monuments of 
power and art spread over the seven hills. Wishing to leave 
in Rome some memorial of his visit, which should transmit 
his name, with that of others of the most illustrious emperors, 
to posterity, he selected a magnificent obelisk which stood 
before the Temple of the Sun at Heliopolis, on the Nile, and 
ordered its transportation to the Roman circus. An enormous 
vessel was constructed for the purpose. The majestic shaft, 
one hundred and fifteen feet in length, was floated from tne 
Nile to the Tiber, and thus became one of the prominent 
embellishments of the imperial city. 

Constantius was suddenly recalled from Rome to meet the 
barbarians, who were crowding across the Danube and ravag- 
ing the frontier. They had seized many captives, and carried 
them as slaves into their inaccessible wilds. But the emperor, 
summoning troops from the East, pursued them with vigor, 
and compelled them to sue for peace, and to liberate their 
slaves. And now, with a host of a hundred thousand of the 
choicest troops of the East, Sapor,, king of Persia, crossed the 



404 ITALY. 

Tigris, marched resolntely through Mesopotamia, finding bs 
foe to obstruct his march until he arrived at Amida. Ooo- 
stantius marched to meet this foe, and Julian was sent to 
encounter the fierce legions of the north. 

It would have been difiicult to have found a man appar- 
ently less qualified to lead in sueh a war&re and against suoh 
a foe, than was the bookish, bashful, idol-worshiping Julian. 
The strong men of Rome, who were nominal pagans, in heart 
despised the superstitions of their country, regarding them 
only as means of overawing the vulgar; but Julian was 
actually a worshiper at those besotted shrines. It was, 
however, necessary for him to repair to Gaul, and to take 
his stand in the tented field. In view of it he was heard to 
exclaim, with a deep sigh, '^ O Plato, Plato, what a task for a 
philosopher !" 

But Julian developed traits of character which astonished 
his contemporaries, and which have not ceased to astonish 
mankind. He inured himself to hardship, not indulging in a 
fire in his chamber in the cold climate of northern GauL He 
slept upon the floor, frequently rising in the night to take the 
rounds of his camp. He allowed no delicacies to be brought 
to his table, but shared in the coarse fare and in all the 
hardships and toils of the common soldiers. After one 
unfortunate campaign, in which the barbarians firmly stood 
their ground and repelled their assailants, Juhan, at the head 
of but thirteen thousand men, assailed, at Strasbourg, on the 
Rhine, thirty-five thousand of the bravest warriors of Ger- 
many. After a long battle, in which both parties fought with 
the utmost fury, the Germans were put to flight, leaving six 
thousand dead upon the field. In the heat of the battle six 
hundred of the Roman cuirassiers, in a panic, fled. After the 
battle, Julian punished them by dressing them in women's 
clothes, and exposing them to the derision of the army. He 
then marched do^ n the Rhine, and through a series of siegea 



THB BMPIBB DItMBMBBBBD. 405 

nd battleB drove baok the Franks, who had taken possessian 
of all that region. 

In imitation of Julius Ciesar, Julian, with scholarly el» 
gance, wrote the annals of the Gktllic war. He crossed the 
Rhine, marched boldly into the almost unknown regions of 
the north, cutting down the barbarians before him, and re- 
turned with twenty thousand Roman slaves, whom, by the 
Bword, he had liberated from their barbarian masters. The 
country, thus ravaged by war, was suffering all the horrors of 
famine. Julian sent six hundred barges to the coasts of Bri- 
tain, from whence they returned laden with grain, which was 
distributed along the banks of the Rhine. 

Engaged in these labors, Julian selected Paris as the seat 
of his winter residence. Julius Csdtor had found this now re- 
nowned city but a collection of fisherman's huts, on a small 
island in the Seine. It was called Lutetia, or the city of mire. 
The place had since gradually increased. The small island was 
covered with houses ; two wooden bridges connected it with 
the shore. A wall surrounded the city, and many dwellings 
were scatt^ed about the suburbs. Julian became very partial 
to the place, and built for himself a palace there. 

Constantius, in the meantime, was in the far east, fighting 
the Persians. The victories of Julian, and his renown, excited 
the jealousy of the emperor, and to weaken the arm of the 
CsBsar, the Augustus sent for a large division of Julian's army 
to be forwarded to Persia. The soldiers refused to go ; rallied 
around Julian; declared him Augustus, and both emperors, 
one from the heart of Gaul, the other from beyond the Eu- 
phrates, left their natural enemies, and turned furiously to as- 
sail each other. Months would elapse, and many thousands 
ot miles were x> be traversed before the heads of their columns 
could meet. Constantius had but reached Tarsus in Cilicia, 
when he was seized with a fever and died. The imperial dig- 
nity, the pur| le vesture, the scepter and diadem, did not disarm 
death of its terror. The monarch was but a poor sinner, 



40« ITALY. 

dying, and going to the bar of God. Enfightened bj reTola> 
tion, he knew his duty, bat did it not. He trembled^ he 
prayed, he was baptized, and received the sacrament of the 
Lord's sapper, and passed away to that tribonal where mon- 
arch and subject, master and slave, stand upon the same 
equality, and where every man shall receive according to his 
deeds. 

Julian heard the welcome tidings of the death of Constan- 
tias, just as he was entering the defiles of the Alps, which 
bound the eastern frontiers of northern Italy. With renewed 
alacrity he pressed on to Constantinople, where he was 
crowned undisputed sovereign of the Roman empire, in the 
thirty-second year of his age. He immediately oonunenced 
vigorous measures to restore the heathen worship in all its 
splendor, and to throw every available obstacle in the way of 
the propagation of Christianity. The temples were repsured, 
embellished, and the worship of idols made &shionable by 
gorgeous parades, and by the presence of the court, Julian 
himself often officiating as a priest. The churches were robbed 
of their property, and Christians were ejected fro\n. all lucra- 
tive and honorable offices, and thdr places supplied by pagans. 
The schools of the Christians were broken up, and they were 
denied the privileges of education. To prove Christ a fidse 
prophet in regard to the temple at Jerusalem, he ordered the 
demolished edifice to be rebuilt. Encountering unexpected 
obstadies, he was exasperated to press forward in his endeavor 
with all the energy and power which a Roman emperor coald 
wield. To his amazement, he failed, and failed utterly. 

Whatever may have been the cause of this failurei the 
memorable fact remams forever undeniable. The Homan em^ 
peror Julian could not rebuild the temple ai Jerusalem. It is 
stated, and the statement 10 confirmed by very important teft* 
iSmony, that the workmen were terrified and driven away by 
phenomena which they certainly regarded as supernatoraL 
Julian, a well read scholar, knew that open persecution, im* 



THS SXPIBS DISXBXBBBBD. 4M 

priflonment, torture, and death had utterly failed in arresting 
the progress of Christianity, and he endeavored to paralyze 
the energies of the ohorch by the influences of ignorance, oon« 
tempt, and neglect. 

Under such teaching and example from the imperial palace, 
bitterness of feeling was rapidly springing up between the 
pagans and the Christians. Then, as now, there were millions 
who had no faith, but who were drifted along with the popu- 
lar current. The empire was menaced with the most terrible 
oivil war. Julian was called to Persia, to resist the invasions 
which were there making desolating headway. Gloom over- 
shadowed the empire. Julian was discomfited in battle; 
pestilence and famine wasted his ranks, and with a heavy 
heart the emperor was compelled to order a retreat. As he 
was leading his exhausted troops over the burning plains of 
Mesopotamia, which were utterly scathed and desolated by 
war, the soldiers dropping dead in the ranks from sheei 
exhaustion, while the cavalry of the Persians mercilessly 
harassed them, Julian, in rage and despair, turned upon his 
foes. A javelin pierced him with a mortal wound. Tradition 
says, that as he tore the weapon from the quivering flesh and 
sank dying upon the sand, he raised his eyes to heaven and 
■aid, '^0 Gralilean, thou hast conquered." Conveyed to his 
tent, he died, descanting upon the virtues of his life, and sol- 
acing himself with the thought that without any personal or 
conscious immortality, his soul was to be absorbed in the ethe* 
real substance of the universe. 

The retreating troops, pressed by the foe, had no time to 
mourn the dead. Surrounded with famine, pestilence, gory 
corpses, dismay, and the din of war, a few voices proclaimed 
Jovian, one of the leading officers of the imperial guard, to 
succeed the emperor. With faint acclaim the army ratified 
the choice, and Jovian, as he urged forward the retreating 
legions, found time hastily to slip on the imperial purple. 
Rome had indeed fallen. Utterly imable to resist the Persians, 



Me ITALT. 

Jovian wm rednoed to the igDominy of pnrdiasmg a tmoe 
with Sapor for thirty years, by surrendering to him many <^ 
the eastern provinoea. And here commenced the dismember 
ment of the Roman empire. All the garrisons were with- 
drawn from these provinces, and the humiliated army, with 
downcast eyes, left the banks of the Tigris forever. 

Jovian repealed all the laws which had been enacted 
against the Christians, and immediately the idol temples were 
abandoned, and paganism, like a hideons dream of night, pass- 
ed away to be revived no more forever. The army was sevea 
months slowly retracii^ its march fifteen hundred miles lo 
Aiitioeh. Jovian was anxious to reach Constantmopla When 
he had arrived within about three hundred miles of the impe- 
rial city, he passed a night in the obscure town of Dadastan% 
and was in the moinmg found dead in bed, aoddentaUy stifled, 
as ii ic supposed, by the fumes of a charcoal fire in his apart- 
ment. His broken-hearted wife met his remains on the road, 
and with the anguish and tears of widowhood, bitter then as 
DOW aocompamed them to the tomb in Constantinopla 

For teL days the Roman world was without a master. 
BvK at length the straggling divisions of the army were assem* 
bled at Nice, in Bithynia. After unusually mature deKben^ 
tion the diadem was placed upon the brow of Yalentinian, aa 
officei oi much merit, who had retired from active service and 
was Lving in the enjoyment of an ample fortune. In all res- 
pects he seems to have been worthy of the throne. Majestic 
in stature, temperate m his habits, inflexibly upright, and widi 
a comprehensive and commanding mind, he was pecuharly 
qualified to win and retain public esteem. Julian had dismisB- 
ed him from service in consequence of his adhesion to the 
Ohristian faith. The new emperor, crowned by the army m 
Nice, Bithynia, immediately proceeded to Constantinople^ 
and there appointed his brother Yalens associate emperor witll 
the equal title of Augustus. 

7aientinian took oharge of the western aspire, assigiiim 



1HX SMPIRK DISMSlCBKUKl: 409 

Valens the eastom, from the Danube to the confines of Persia) 
the one selecting Milan as his capital, the other Constantino* 
pie; Rome, in the meantime, being left to slow, but suro 
decay. The war of the barbarians now assailed the whole 
Koman empire, both the east and the west, with a ferocity 
never before surpassed. The Picts and Scots ruslun) down 
upon Britain from the monntains of Caledonia. All along the 
Khine and the Danube, Gothic tribes of various name? devas- 
tated the country with fire and sword. For twelve yean 
Yalentinian was engaged in almost an incessant battle. In a 
fit of passion he burst a blood vessel, and fell speechless into 
the arms of attendants, and died in convulsions of agony, the 
seventeenth of November, ▲• d. 375, in the fifty-fourth year of 
liisage. 



1» 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

9HB DYNASTY OF THB aOTHB. 

Fbom a. d. 376 to a. d, 1086. 

fta liAaoB or «■■ Hinra.^FLiOHT of thb Goths to Italy.— Ehcbot or ^Aiaifff. — 
iHOLouonB BnoN of Oratian.— Thb Bbion of THBODoeiua.— Ootuio Ihta* 
UONB.— Alabic— Bomb Bbsibobd. — ^Thb Oonqubbt of Boux. — Caftubi of Sioilt. 

SaOAOITT of ADOLPHUS.— BeIXF DoMIKXON of THB EaBTBBM EmPIBB OYXB TBI 

Wb8t.— Tub Bavagbs of Attila.— Anaboht iff Italy.— Nbpob, Oexstbb, ahd 
Oi>oaobb.->Inyabion of Thbooobio.— Justinian at Constantinoplbw— Tbb Ca- 
bbxb of BBLisABiim.— Chablbmaonb and His Empibb.— Tbb Bbion of thb Dmmk 
— 8ir&»0TioN to thb Qbbman Emfxbob. 

fTTiUXiE Yalentinian, on the banks of the Rhine, was strng. 
"'^ gling against the hordes of the north, crowding down 
m numbers which seemed inexhaustible, upon the plains of the 
south, Yalens, in the remote east, was engaged in a conflict 
still more hopeless against the Huns, a branch of the great 
Mongolian race, who emerged, in locust legions, from the 
phdns of Tartary. These savages were as fierce and implac- 
able as wolves. Even the Goths fled in terror before them, 
and implored of Yalens permission to take refrige in the 
waste lands of Thrace. Yalens consented, hoping to obtain 
aid from them in resisting the Huns. But the Goths com- 
menced ravaging the province, where they had been so hospi- 
tally received, and, in the pride of their strength, commenced 
the seige both of Adrianople and Constantinople, and ravaged 
•he whole country to the shores of the Adriatic, menacing 
even Italy itself, with their arms. In a battle before the wallK 
of Adrianople, the victorious Goths cut the army of Yalens 
to pieces, and the emperor himself perished on the bloody 
field 

Gratian, the son of Yalentinum, a youth of but seventeeo 



THX DYNASTY OF THB OOTH8. 411 

yeare, who had succeeded his father on the throne of the 
western empire, was on the march to assist Yalens, wtien he 
was informed of his defeat and death. The prospects of ths 
whole empire were now gloomy in the extreme, and Gratian^ 
after very anxious deliberation with his best advisers, nom« 
inated Tlieodosius, a Christian general of great renown, to 
oooupy the post vacated by the death of Yalens. For sixteen 
years this heroic man maintained his position against an inces- 
sant flood of assailants, bat the empure was so exhausted by 
these intominable wars, that he was compelled to recruit his 
legions by enlisting under his banners tribes of barbarianfl, 
who were ready to fight in any. cause where there was a pros- 
pect of pay and plunder. During his administration not a 
province of his realms was lost. 

Oratian, more fond of pleasure than of the toils of battle, 
retired to Paris, where he ingloriously surrendered himself to 
voluptuous indulgence. Such general discontent, was excited 
that Maximus, governor of Britain, raised the standard <^ 
revolt, and with an army crossed the channel. Gratian aban- 
doned by his troops fled. He was overtaken near Lyons and 
put to death. But collision immediately ensued between 
Theodosins and Maximus, and the emperor of the east, with 
wonderful cderity, marched upon the usurper, defeated him 
near AquUeia, at the head of the Adriatic, and taking him 
captive, handed him over to the executioner. 

Theodosius then foolishly placed upon the throne of the 
western empire, Valentinian, a mere boy, brother of Gratian. 
So soon as Theodosius had crossed fhe Bosphorus, having 
been recalled by the necessities of war, the child emperor was 
assassinated, and Eugenius, a stern and veteran warrior, a» 
Bumed the purple. Theodosius instantly returned, burning 
with rage, defeated Eugenius in a long drawn battle, and 
mercilessly cut off his head. He then assumed the govern- 
ment of the whole empire, eastern and western, but the hand 
of death was ah*eady upon him, and in less than four months 



412 ITALY. 

he breatht d his last, at Milan. Theodosiuf was an energetiis^ 
Christian bigot. He issued severe edicts against heretics; 
prohibited the assembling of those for worship who differed 
from the established faith ; demolished or closed all the tem- 
ples of heathenism, and instituted that office of Inquisitors of 
the Faith, which has been the subsequent cause of so much 
wrong and cruelty. Still, notwithstanding his faults, history 
has pronounced him one of the purest and noblest monarchs 
who ever occupied a throne. 

The two sons of Theodosius now acceded to the empire ; 
Arcadius to that of the east, and Honorius to that of the 
west. The one dominion included Thrace, Greece, Asia 
Minor, Syria, and Egypt. The other Italy, Africa, Graul, 
Spain, and Britain, with the Danubian provinces of Noricum, 
Pannonia, and Dalmatia. The vast prefecture of Ulyricum 
was divided equally between the two. The western empire 
was now by far the weakest, and was fest crumbling to decay. 
The Moors threatened Africa, the Scots menaced Brit^ ; and 
all along the banks of the Rhine and the Danube, Gothic 
tribes were making their encroachments. Rome had ceased 
to be the metropolis, and possessed at this timie only the 
renown of its former greatness. 

Alaric now appears in the tumultuous arena, at the head 
of his fierce legions. He swept through Greece, entered 
Italy, and even besieged Milan. Though by a temporary 
check he was driven back, the timid Honorius was so alarmed 
by this bold invasion, that he abandoned Milan as his capital, 
and retired to Ravenna. But immediately another cloud of 
barbarians appeared, under the leadership of Radagaisus, and 
battering down all opposition, passed the Alps, the Po, and 
the Apennines. Defeated before the walls of Florence, where 
Radagaisus was slain, the savage bands scattered over the 
defenseless plains of Gaul, plundering, burning, and destroy- 
ing. Honorius was utterly impotent, and but for the energy 



THE DTKA8TT OF THB OOTHSe 4J8 

«f blB minister, Stilicho, no headway iHiatever would baM 
been made against the barbarians. 

Honorins was now seeking ignominious shelter behind liie 
walls of Ravenna, and the Goths, oontemptaously passing by 
him, were menacing even the walls of Rome. For six hoa- 
dred years the imperial city had not been insulted by the 
presence of a foreign foe. The arms of the citizens were 
paralyzed by degeneracy. The walls alone stood in thefar 
native, massive strength. Alaric, at the head of one hondred 
thousand men, subjected the city to blockade; and ^unine 
soon compeUed the enervated Romans to purchase a tem- 
porary peace, at the price of the payment of a vast sum cS 
money, and the surrender of the sons of the principal citizens 
as hostages; and Honorius entered into nominally frigidly 
alliance with the barbaric chieftain. 

Such a peace, of course, could be but transient. The 
hosts of Alaric were soon again oicamped before the walls of 
the imperial dty. The slaves in the city sagaciously conspired 
with the foe. At midnight, by a servile insurrection, one of 
the gates was thrown open, and the shout and clangor of the 
rushing barbarians resounded through the streets. It is not 
m the power of mortal imagination to conceive the horrors 
of a city sacked at midnight. Thousands of cities, at the 
hands of Rome, had experienced this woe. It was now, in 
divine retnbution, the turn of Rome to drink that bitter cup 
to its dregs. 

There were in the dty forty thoosand slaves. It was to 
flAem a glad hour in which to avenge their wrongs. Rome 
Ikad instructed them in all the arts of crudty and lust ; and 
Roman virgins shrieked, and Roman backs were lacerated, as 
the slaves, in that one honible night, attempted to avenge the 
oppression of ages. All that was venerable and costly was 
surrendered to pillage or destruction, and wanton conflagra- 
tion consumed important portions of the dty. The Goths 
remained m the dty but six days. The army, intoxicated 



414 ITALY. 

wHh sucoesft and encnmbered with BpoO, rioted sJong tbe 
Appian way, and ravaged sonthern Italy, giving loose to 
every depraved desire. For four years the whole of southern 
Italy was subject to their sway. The Romans were com 
pelled to serve them as slaves. Burly barbarians would 
stretch their naked limbs beneath the shade of palm-treeS| 
and compel the daughters of Roman senators to present them 
Falemian wme in golden goblets, and in docile subjection, to 
minister to their brutality. 

Alaric, having reached the extremity of Italy, looked wist- 
fiilly across the waters to the beautiftd island of Sicily, separ- 
ated from the main land by a narrow strait, but two miles 
wide. He was preparing his barges for the transportation of 
his troops, when death summoned him to the tribunal of his 
final Judge. Adolphus, the brother-in-law of Alaric, succeeded 
him in the dominion over the Ooths. The character and 
policy of this illustrious man may be best inferred from the 
following remarks which he made to a dtizen of Narbonne : 

^*' I once aspired,** said Adolphus, *^ in the full confidence 
of valor and victory, to change the face of the universe ; to 
obliterate the name of Rome; to erect on its ruins, the 
dominion of the Ooths, and to acquire, like Augustus, the 
fanmortal &me of the founder of a new empire. By repeated 
experiments, I was gradually convinced, that laws are essen- 
tially necessary to maintain and regulate a well constituted 
state; and that the fierce, intractable humor of the Goths, 
was incapable of bearing the salutary yoke of laws and civil 
government. From that moment I proposed to myself a 
different object of glory and ambition ; and it is now my sin- 
cere wish that the gratitude of friture ages should acknowl- 
edge the merit of a stranger, who employed the sword of the 
Gbths, not to subvert, but to restore and maintain the pros- 
perity of the Roman empire." 

\dolphus opened negotiations with the imperial courli 
end entered into a treaty of peace which was cemented by hie 



THX DTHASTT OF THB GOTHS. 415 

marriage with Placidia, a sister of Honorius. In this new 
rdation, and assuming the character of a Roman general, he 
marched from Italy, and entering southern Oaul, took posses- 
sion of the country from the ocean to the Mediterranean. 
Here Adolphus soon died, and Placidia returned to her 
brother's court. The eastern empire was now inseparably 
separated from the western. Spain dropped off, Britain and 
Gaul, though not openly in revolt, had silently passed into 
virtual independence. And Honorius, ignobly sheltered be- 
hind the walls of Ravenna, had no power with which to wield 
the scepter over distant Africa. The east was also now 
severed from the west, never to be effectually reunited. Thus 
the Roman empire had virtually dwindled down to the region 
of Italy alone. After a disgraceful reign of twenty-eight 
years, Honorius died, of dropsy, in his palace at Ravenna. 

The crown which fell from that ignoble brow, seemed to 
belong, by right, to any one who had suffident skill to grasp 
it. John, the principal secretary of Honorius, clutched at the 
ftlling diadem, and threw over his shoulders the imperial 
purple. Italy accepted him. The court of Constantinople, 
advocalang the claims of Yalentinian, the son of Placidia, a 
child but six years of age, sent an army against John, took 
him captive at Ravenna, beheaded him, and declared Yalen- 
tinian HI. emperor, with his mother Placidia as regent. In 
the impotence of this rdgn, the Vandals passed over from 
Spain, which they had subjugated, and took possession of 
Africa. 

The Huns, who had established themselves in the country 
from which they had driven the Goths, having compelled the 
eastern empire to purchase peace with them by the payment 
of an annual subsidy, conmienced their march toward the 
west. They were led by Attila, whose devastations have pro- 
cured for him the designation of "The scourge of God.** 
The glory and dignity of Rome had vanished for ever. There 
were no resources of effectual resistance, and the court at 



416 IT^LT. 

Ilayenna was so thoroughly debased, as to purdliase peace wkfo 
the invader, by offering him, in marriage, the emperor's sister 
Honoria, with an immense dowry. 

Om* space will not allow us to trace out the ravages of 
Attila, at the head of half a million of the fiercest warriors 
earth has ever known, through G&vl and Italy. He utterly 
destroyed the renowned Aquileia, and devastated with fearM 
slaughter, all Yenetia. The wretched inhabitants, flying in 
terror before him, escaped to the marshy islands, which in 
great numbers are found, but slightly elevated above the 
waves, at the extremity of the Adriatic. These morasses 
were then uninhabited, and almost without a name. Here the 
fugitives established themselves, and laid the foundations of 
Venice, that city of the sea, which subsequently almost out- 
vied Rome itself in opulence, power, and splendor. ^^ The 
grass never grows," said this demoniac warricw, " wnere my 
horse has placed his hoof." 

Before Attila left Italy, he threatened to return and take 
terrible vengeance, unless his promised bride were sent to him 
within the time promised in the treaty. The trembling prin- 
cess was transported to his palace beycind the Danube, wh»« 
the nuptials were solemnized with great barbaric festivity and 
pomp. The burly savage, inflamed with wine, retired to his 
Apartment with his bride. The morning dawned, but he did 
not appear. Hour after hour glided away, and still the attend- 
ants, respecting the bridal chamber, ventured no interruption. 
At length, their suspicions being excited, they entered the 
room, and found the monarch dead in his bed, and his bride 
flitting at the bed-side, veiled, and trembling. 

Attila had burst an artery, and was suffocated in his own 
blood. His body was exposed upon the plain, beneath a silk- 
en pavilion, and his soldiers, in the clangor and pageantry of 
war, wheeled in military evolutions around the corpse of their 
ehieftain, sin^g funeral songs to his memory, gashing thai 



THX DTKASIT OF THB GOTHB, M 

flMses with hideous wounds, thus bemoaning him, *' not with 
the tears of women, bnt with the blood of warriors." 

The emperor Yalentinian had now attained manhood, bnt 
a manhood stained with every yioe. He artfully inveigled a 
noble lady, alike illnstrions for beauty and piety, and the wife 
of au eminent saiator, to his palace, where he brutally violated 
her person. The outraged husband conspired with his friends, 
and slew Yalentinian in the midst of his guards. The soldiers 
placed the diadem upon the brow of the senator Maximus, 
who had thus avenged his wrongs. His wife soon died, and 
he endeavored to compel Eudoxia, the widow of Yalentinian, 
whom he had murdered, to become his spouse. Indignantly 
she repelled him, and threw herself upon the protection of 
Genseric, king of those powerful Yandals who had wrested 
Afiica from the Roman empire. Gknseric joyfully espoused 
her cause. With a large fleet he entered the Tiber, advanced 
to Rome; captured the dty, Mazimus being slain in the tu- 
mult ; and miserable Rome was surrendered, for fourteen days, 
to be pillaged by the Moors and the Yandals. Eudoxia her- 
self, with her two daughters, and many thousand Romans, 
were carried off as slaves into Africa, to serve those African 
tribes as hewers of wood and drawers of water, while the 
proud matrons and maidens of Rome were doomed to the 
ignominy of barbarian harems. 

The dismembered empire, in its fragmentary state, without 
a capital, ahnost without a local existence, was again without 
a head. The army in Oaul chose their general, Avitus, empe* 
ror. The senate in Rome opposed hie nomination, and placed 
upon the throne Julian Majorean^ Another civil war would 
have ravaged the unhappy country, but for the fortunate death 
of Avitus. Julian struggled unavailingly against the Moorish 
and Yandal pirates. They even captured his fleet, and burned 
it. Julian was deposed, and in five days died of chagrin. Of 
his snooessoF, Severus, we can only say, he was crowned, and 
died. Itafy was now so utterly disorganized, that the court 

18* 



418 XTi^LT. 

of Constantinople, in the vain attempt to sa^e the wreck, a** 
Bumed to appoint an emperor for the west, and sent Antheminji 
to Rome, robed in the imperial parple. To this indignity, 
Rome, impoverished and impotent as it was, would not sub- 
mit. A tumult was exdted, and Anthemius was slain. 

Ricimier, a bold, bad demagogue, the idol of the mob, and 
tihe one who had led the tumult in which Anthemius was assas- 
Bioated, now, by the success of bloody insurrection, and in the 
chaos of anarchy, found the tangled reins of power in his own 
hands. For forty days, he was supreme in Rome, and they 
were days of havoc, plunder, debauchery, and every species of 
crime. Rioting in the intemperance to which this power gave 
him sudden access, he was seized with disease, and the tomb 
daimed the tyrant. The court of Constantinople despairingly 
sent another emperor, Olibrius, to endeavor to rescue Rome 
from ruin. After a powerless reign of seven months, he also 
died. Again the throne was vacant, and again Leo, emperor 
of the east, assembled his court at Constantinople, to place 
another sovereign in the dilapidated palaces of Rome^ It was 
manifest, an emperor thus enthroned, could be sustained only 
by the energies of foreign armies, and it was needftd to move 
with caution. 

Many months passed in these deliberations. At length 
Nepos, accompanied by a body guard from Constantinople, 
presented himself before the decayed senate of Rome, as the 
sovereign which the eastern empire had sent to them. They 
accepted him, and Rome, and Italy generally, in weariness, 
exhaustion, and shame, decorated him with the diadem and 
the purple, and placed the scepter in his hands, hoping that he 
might be able to wield it for the rescue of their ruined coun- 
try. He established himself at Ravenna, where he could more 
easily receive aid from Constantinople; and he purchased 
peace with the barbarians by relinquishing all claim to por- 
tions of the empire which they had already wrested from him. 
But fragments of German tribes were nc w scattered everjr 



THX DTVASTT OP THK GOTHS. 419 

where throughout Italy, living in a state of semi-lawlessness, 
■t times in peace, and again bidding defiance to all the power 
of the magistracy. 

Nepos was one day informed that a numerous band of 
these barbarians, under their leader Orestes, was marching 
upon Ravenna. The timid monarch, conscious that the ana 
of Italian strength was paralyzed, took to his ships, and 
escaped across the Adriatic to the coast of Slyricum. Here he 
remained five years, nominally emperor of a country which he 
dared not enter. At length he was assassinated, and we may 
mention, in illustration of the corruption which had already 
seized upon the church, that his assassin was immediately re- 
warded with the bishopric of Milan. 

Orestes, the barbaric chiefldn who had driven Nepos from 
Italy, for some unknown reason refused the purple for himself, 
but placed the imperial robes upon his son Augustulus. These 
barbarian bands had been introduced to Italy as allies — ^mer* 
cenary troops, to aid in repelling the inroads of other tribes 
of barbarians. They now became the masters, cruel and dom- 
ineering masters, of those whom they once had served. In 
Spain, in Oaul, in Africa their brethren had become dominant, 
in the realms which they had sevendly overrun and detached 
from Rome. Envying the fortune of their brethren, they now 
demanded that one-third of Italy should be surrendered to 
them, as their exclusive patrimony. But Orestes, who had 
just placed his own son upon the throne, did not wish to see 
the realms of that son thus dismembered, and he opposed 
the daim. 

Odoacer, a bold, barbarian warrior, whose ferocity had 
given him much renown, bade defiance to his chieftain, raised 
the banners of revolt, and from all the camps and garrisons of 
Italy, the Oermanic troops rushed around him. The sudden 
movement was so formidable, that Orestes fled to Pavia, hop- 
ing to find shelter behind its strong intrenchments. But the 
place was taken by storm, the town pillaged, and Orestes 



420 ITi.LT. 

slain. Angustnlus, now helpless, was constrained to imploiv 
the clemency of Odoacer. 

The troops of Odoacer saluted him with the title of king. 
The degenerate Italians were submissive to his sway. AngutJ- 
tulus was compelled to send in his abdication to the senate, 
Odoacer, a stem warrior, familiar only with camps, hardship, 
and blood, did not wish to assume the imperial purple, and the 
imperial dignity, but wished to rule Italy, as a military chie^ 
tain merely, with his own sharp sword. He, therefore, com- 
pelled the senate, by a formal decreie, to abolish the imperial 
uuccession; and he commenced his military reign with tiie 
new title of king of Italy. Thus, after the decay of ages, tiw 
ancient Roman empire fell to rise no more, a. d. 476. 

Odoacei spared the life of Augustulus, but imprisoned him 
in the castle of Lucullus, near Naples, supplying his wants 
with even sumptuous prodigality. Italy had indeed fallen, and 
the barbaric leader of a barbarian band, by the might of con- 
quest, was now its enthroned monarch. With much sagacity 
he respected the old institutions of his realms, governing 
through those instrumentalities which time had created and 
nurtured. He conferred upon his captains the tities of dukes 
and counts, and thus extended the feudal system. It is hardly 
possible to conceive a more melancholy spectacle of national 
debasement than Italy now presented. The Roman nobler 
had fallen, beyond redemption, into the slough of slothftd and 
voluptuous indulgence. The plebeians, still more degraded 
and base, had lefl behind them scarcely any vestige of thear 
existence, which history can discern. The army was comprth 
ed ahnost exclusively of barbarians; and the country wa« 
cultivated only by slaves. The Caesars had departed foreWi 
and the dynasty of the Goths had commenced its reign. 

The barbarians, as they were called, now masters of Italy, 
blended so rapidly with the people among whom they dwellii 
that soon no traces of distinct nationality could be perceived. 
Durinfi: a reign of fourteen years, foreigners from the wild 



TBB D7NA8TT BT TBS GOTH8 421 

wastes of the north were flocking hito snnny Ilaly, where 
Ihey were gladly received by Odoacer, as adding strength to 
his military arm. But Italy was too rich a prize, in the eyes 
of nortliem barbarians, to be left long undisputed in the 
hands of Odoacer. North of the Enxine there was a power- 
ful nation called the Ostrogoths. Their king, Theodorio, had 
been well educated in Constantinople. 

Theodoric commenced a march upon Italy, accompanied 
by his entire people. For three years a fierce warfare swept 
an those plains, as Goth struggled against Ostrogoth in savage 
war. At length Theodoric was victorious, and having anni* 
hilated the armies of the Gk>ths, and plunged his own sword 
into the bosom of Odoacer, he entered upon the undisputed 
sovereignty of the whole peninsula, dispersing his followers 
every where throughout the rich and luxurious valleys of this 
most beautiful of realms. 

Theodoric governed his conquered kingdom with so much 
energy, wisdom, and humanity, that he is justly entitled to 
the designation of Great^ which history has conferred upon 
him. Most of the civil offices he confided to native Italians, 
and carefhBy preserved the ancient laws and customs. With 
a strong arm he secured peace ; and agriculture and the arts, 
under his sway, flourished with vigor unknown for ages. He 
endeavored to maintain a distinction between his Gothic and 
Italian subjects, by conferring civil employments only upon 
the one, and military only upon the other. One-third of the 
soil of Italy was given to his Gothic soldiers, in remuneratict: 
for which, they owed him feudal service, and were to rush to 
his banner whenever his bugle-blast was heard. Almost in aa 
hour he could call two hundred thousand warriors into the . 
field. 

For thirty-three years Theodoric rdgned over Italy, and 
few sovereigns ar? equally entitled to be regarded as benefac- 
tors of mankind. Still, with all his virtues, he developed some 
vices sufficient to condemn any ordinary man to infiony. Id 



422 ITALY* 

the seventy-fourth year of his age, tortxired by snspieion, 
oppressed with melancholy and partially insane, the old mon- 
arch sadly died, the glooms of remorse darkening around his 
dying bed. He left the diadem to his grandson, Atalaric, a 
boy but ten jesxs of age, under the regency of his daughter, 
Amalasunta, the widowed mother of the child. The boy, 
heir to wealth and a throne, grew up, almost as a matter of 
course, an unmitigated profligate. He soon died through the 
excesses of inebriation and debauchery. Theodotus, who had 
become the husband of the regent, seized the scepter, after 
strangling his spouse. 

The emperor Justinian, at Constantinople, having recon 
quered Africa, turned his eyes to Italy, resolved to rescue 
that beautiftd country from the Goths, and annex it to the 
eastern empire. With a chosen troop of about five thousand 
cavalry and three thousand infantry, the intrepid general 
Belisarius, who was intrusted with the command, landed at 
Catana, in Sicily, where they were cordially received by the 
inhabitants. With but little difficulty they effected the con- 
quest of the island. Palermo made a short resistance. But 
Belisarius anchored his fleet in the harbor, raised his boats 
with ropes and pulleys to the heads of the masts, and from 
that elevated position commanded the ramparts of the city. 
The reduction of the island cost but one summer's campaign. 
In the autumn he entered Syracuse in triumph, and spent the 
winter, the undisputed master of Sicily, occupying the palaces 
of the ancient kings. 

In the spring, embarking his troops at Messina, he landed 
them at Rhegium, in Italy, without opposition. He marched 
along the coast to Naples, followed by the fleet near the shore. 
Naples, was then a beautiful rural city, to which the lovers of 
literature and philosophy had retired from the confrision of 
Rome. The barbarians here were strong, and the siege was 
fiercely contested. At length, by stratagem, through the diy 
channel of an aqueduct, an entrance was effected into the city, 



THX DYKABTT OV THX OOTH8. 488 

Tlie strife was short, and Naples surrendered to the oo» 
queror; and the Gothic garrison there with alacrity enlisted 
in the service of ^elisarius. 

Theodotus, appalled hj the min thus suddenly overwhehn- 
ing him, gathered all his available force, to make a desperate 
stand behind the ramparts of Rome. But the Gk)ths, dissatisfied 
with his want of energy and success, in a tumultuous military 
gathering, declared him unworthy of the throne ; and raising 
upon their bucklers, their general Vitiges, pronounced him 
king. Theodotus endeavored to escape, but was pursued 
along the Flaminian way, and slaughtered while crying for 
mercy. Vitiges, conscious of his inability to cope with 
Belisarius, ordered a retreat. The conquerors now marched 
rapidly, by way of CumsB and Capua to Rome, and entered 
the city in triumph. 

During the winter Vitiges at Ravenna, and Belisarius at 
Rome, were preparing with great vigor, for the campaign of 
the ensuing spring. With one hundred and fifty thousand 
men Vitiges commenced his march, and traversing the Flami< 
nian way, arrived at the MUvian bridge, within two miles of 
Rome. For a year Belisarius was besieged, within the walls 
of Rome, by this overpowering host. With but five thousand 
veteran troops he defended a circle of twelve miles against 
the legions of Vitiges. In one desperate assault, the Goths 
lost thirty thousand of their number in slain, and an equal 
number wounded. Ebrdly an arrow was thrown from the 
Roman ramparts which did not accomplish its mission. 

But the genius of Belisarius prevailed. The whole mili> 
tary force of the Ostrogoths had been rallied around Rome, 
and m the long and bloody siege nearly the whole force had 
perished. After an almost incessant battle, of one year and 
nine days, the Gk>ths burnt their tents, and precipitately re- 
treated, pursued by thrir indomitable foes. Vitiges found 
shelter within the walls of Ravenna. Belisarius, receiving 
reoruiti' fr(Mn Oonstantinoplei pitched bis tents arouid the 



«S4 ITALY. 

walls, and, in his turn, oommenoed the Aege of VitigeB. At 
length the city surrendered, and Belisarius, in tritunph, entered 
its streets ; and Yitiges was sent a captive, in chains, to Con- 
stantinople. 

But while these final scenes were being enacted, Justinian, 
jealous of the renown which Belisarias was acquiring, — ^for the 
Goths were actually in treaty with him, offering him the 
crown of Italy, — entered into a hasty treaty of peace with the 
Goths and recalled Belisarius. Embarking at Bayenna, the 
obedient general returned to Constantinople, taking with him 
his illustrious captive Vitiges. The departure of Belisarius 
revived the courage of the Goths. They chose Totila, a 
nephew of Yitiges, to the supreme command, and he, collect- 
ing five thousand troops at Pavia, commenced the reconquest 
of Italy from the dominion of Justinian. Belisarius had left 
garrisons in Italy, under eleven generals, to hold command of 
the country as a province under the eastern empire. 

The Romans soon found themselves imprisoned in th^ 
fortresses, while the Goths, who had invited other foreign tribes 
to their assistance, under Totila marched defiantly through 
the kingdom and laid siege to Naples. Naples, CumsB, and 
all the southern provinces were speedily subjugated. The 
Goths were now nominal Christians, and earnest advocates of 
the Catholic church, in antagonism to what was called the 
Arian heresy. Totila, the new king, possessed many Christian 
virtues. He was chaste, temperate, and his moral integrity 
no one questioned. At this time every clergyman in the east 
was called in Greek papa, {irdTrrra^) father. The bishop of 
of Rome, then called papa, and subsequentiy pcpe^ had been 
banished by Belisarius. The sympathies of the church were 
consequently with the Goths, rather than with the Greeks 
from Constantinople. Totila liberated the slaves, and thus 
secured their enthusiastic support. In the progress of the war 
he inexorably punishea with death, the violation of female 
chastity. In earnest harangues to the troops he urged npon 



THX DTNASTT OF TUX GOTH8. 4Sft 

tlieni that natdoiial vice was the sore preounor of national 
decay. 

From the oonqueet of soathern Italy, TotOa proceeded to 
the Biege of Rome. The mhahitants conspired agfunst the 
garrison, threw open the gates, and at midnight the Gothe 
marched in and took possession of the city. The Gothic 
king, in the morning, devoutly went to church to return 
thanks for his victory. Totila demolished a large portion of 
the walls of Rome, dragged the senators away as captives in 
ibe train of his army, exiled most of the citizaos, men and 
women, and left Rome comparatively a solitude. 

Justinian, alarmed, had again sent Belisarius to take com- 
mand of his troops in Italy. But Belisarius found himself 
without an army, and could never fiu^e Totila on the field of 
battle. New armies were sent from Constantinople to south- 
ern Italy, and Totila entered into alliance with Theodebert, 
king of the Franks, to strengthen him in northern Italy. Bel- 
isaiius was again recalled, and the renowned eunuch, Karses, 
with a strong force entered Italy and offered battle to Totik. 
The hostile armies met in the vicinity of Rome. The Goths 
were vanquished, and Totila himself fell pierced through the 
body by a lance. The victory of Narses was obtained mainly 
by his barbarian allies, whom he had enticed to his camp. 
Unrelentingly he ravaged the conquered land. 

But the Goths, though vanquished, were not subdued. 
They retired north of the Po, and chose one of their heroes, 
Teias, to be their king. Selecting Pavia for his head-quarters, 
and gathering around him his allies the Franks, in a rapid 
march he advanced from the Alps to Mt. Vesuvius, and there 
in as savage a fight as time has witnessed, he fell. Still his 
troops, avenging his death, fought still more fierody, till, in the 
darkness of the night, friends could not be distinguished from 
foes. But with the early dawn the battle was renewed, and 
was continued until again the sun had disappeared in the west. 
The Gothic army was then effectually destroyed. Most of thf 



430 ITALY. 

snrviyors oapitnlated, though a smaQ but determined band out 
their way through theu' foes and retreated to the walls of 
Pavia. With the death of Teias, in March, a. d. 553, the 
€k>thic kingdom in Italy passed away forever. 

The fragments of the old Roman empire were gradually 
being organized into new and independent kingdoms. Bri- 
tain, abandoned by the Romans and overrun by the Angles, 
became Anglia, or England. The Franks took possession of 
Gaul, and it was called France. Spain, subjugated by the 
Suabians and Vandals, retained its ancient name. Pannonia, 
occupied by the Huns, became Hungary. In all these king- 
doms the native inhabitants and their conquerors rapidly 
blended into a homogeneous race. 

While Narses was endeavoring to consolidate his conquest, 
seventy-five thousand Franks came rushing down through the 
defiles of the RhsBtian Alps into the plains of Milan. Like an 
inundation they swept through northern Italy. These Franks 
were nominal Christians, imbued with many of the supersti- 
tions of the church, though with but Httle of the spirit of 
Christ. A protracted war ensued, in which the majority of 
these bands perished through pestilence, famine, and the 
sword. Italy was thus again left, a war-scathed province, 
attached to the eastern empire of Justinian. But the renown- 
ed emperor Justinian died, and Narses died, and the feeble 
Justinian H. ascended the throne of Constantinople. 

There was a powerfrd nation called Lombards dwelling in 
Hungary. Their king, Alboin, a ferocious warrior, cast wist- 
ful looks toward Italy, and resolved to attempt its conquest. 
Leading his army across the Julian Alps he speedily overran 
the territory, and nearly the whole country, with the excep- 
tion of Rome and Ravenna, was soon in his hands. Assuming 
the title of king of Italy, Alboin assigned the conquered prov- 
mces to his captains, who under various titles of nobility such 
as counts and dukes were bound to render him feudal service, 
by paving him tribute, and obeymg his summons to the field 



THX DTHASTT Ot THS OOTRB. 4ST 

of battle. Bat Alboin was a true savage, drinkiiig in reyefar; 
from the skulls of his enemies. He was at length murdered, 
at the instigation of his queen in revenge for an outrage h« 
had inflicted upon her. 

Clevis, one of his captains, who had the title of a duke, 
Bucceeded him. But he was a miserable despot, and after a 
reign of seventeen months, he was assassinated hj one of his 
servants while he slept. There were now thirty-six of these 
Lombard warrior chieftains, with the title of dukes, scattered 
over Italy. Each had his allotted territory, more or less dis- 
tinctly defined, over which he had undisputed domain, subject 
only to feudal service to the sovereign. So long as war raged, 
a sovereign was necessary, around whom they might rally 
against a common foe. But Italy was now supine at the feet 
of its conquerori), and the eastern empire crumbling also to 
decay, had relinquished all attempts at the reconquest of the 
Italian peninsula. The dukes, under these circumstances, were 
not disposed to choose a master, each wishing to retain his 
independence. They, therefore, formed a federal aristocracy, 
each one being supreme over his own territory. 

For ten years Italy continued in this state, when, upon 
tome indications of an attack both from Greece and Gaul, the 
dukes judged it necessary to be better prepared for war, and 
they, therefore, chose one of their number, Autharis, who was 
most highly distinguished for valor and abilities, as their king. 
The wisdom of this measure was immediately apparent ; fot 
in three succesdve waves of invasion the Gauls rushed down 
upon the plains of Italy, where they were arrested and driven 
bock by the energy of Autharis. 

At this time Pavia was the recognized capital of the king- 
dom, and Gregory the Great was bishop, or papa, at Rome. 
He was an ambitious ecclesiastic, and was as ambitious and 
iaccessfid in gathering into his hands the reins of spiritual 
power as Autharis pro/ed to be m grasping secular dominion. 
Tliis renowned clergyman was nobly bom. He had been both 



4i8 ITALY. 

B^iator and gOYerner of Borne. From inheritance and Inonii 
dve office he had acquired enormoas wealth. John, another 
very distinguished ecclesiastic, was at that time bishop oi 
papa at Constantinople. There was a very stem struggle 
between them as to which should have the supremacy, and 
heuoe commeDced the schism between the Greek and Latin 
churches, which continues to the present day. The bishop of 
Constantinople, with the titie of Patriarch, is the head of the 
enstfsm church ; and the bishop of Rome, with the titie of 
Pope, is recognized as the sovereign of the church in the 
west. Many are the anathemas which, during tiie last thou 
sand years, these patriarchs have hurled against each other. 
Under Gregory, tiie idolatrous Britons were converted to 
nominal Christianity ; and not a few became the sincere and 
humble followers of Jesus Christ in both heart and life. The 
forty missionaries sent to England, in less than two yean 
reported the baptism of the king of Kent, and of ten thoA- 
sand of the Anglo-Saxons. 

The dukedoms now began to assume importance, and to 
take their position in the procession of events, as individual 
dukes, by their achievements, arrest the observation of his- 
tory. After a short but energetic reign, Autharis died, 
probably of poison, and his beautiful widow, Theodelinda, 
married Agilulph, the Lombard duke of Turin. With her 
hand Agilulph, thoi^h then a pagan, succeeded in obtaining 
the crown and scepter of Italy. He soon, however, embraced 
Christianity, and engaged very zealously in his endeavors to 
promote the welfare of the church. Several of the dukes of 
Turin succeeded him in brief, uneventful reigns. Some were 
tolerably good, and otiiers were intolerably bad. Each one 
of these undistinguished sovereigns was eager to add to the 
prerogatives of the crown, while the rival dukes were com* 
bining to resist every encroachment upon their power and 
independence. Li the course of sixty years nineteen sovei^ 



THB BTKASTT OF TRB GOTRB. 4M 

I oocnpied the throne. Their names even are not worth 
reoording. 

The Lombards were established munly in Northern Italy, 
nd the emperor, in Constantinople, still held a shadowy au- 
thority over southern Italy. The Gredan power was, how- 
ever, rapidly vanishing before the encroachments of the 
Lombard kings. During the eighth century, Italy was fre> 
quently invaded by the Franks. Toward the dose of the 
eighth century, their renowned sovereign, Charlemagne, or 
Charles the Great, swept over Italy and completed th^ de- 
struction of the Lombard monarchy, which had governed 
Italy for two hundred years. Then forming an alliance with 
Pope Leo IQ., who had attained vast temporal as well as 
spiritual power, he organized anew a Western empira In the 
cathedral church erected by Constantino, he crowned himself 
emperor of the west. This memorable event took place on 
Christmas day, a. d. 800. For forty years this illustrious 
monarch, as kmg and emperor, governed Italy, in connection 
with his other vast reabns, and perhaps better t'lan it had 
ever been governed before. Eight kings of the famOy of 
Charlemagne ruled over Italy. The great empire which the 
military genius of Charlemagne created, and his great states- 
man-like qualities so long held together, consisted of France, 
a part of Spain, Italy, Germany, and Hungary. He was a 
powerful sovereign, but a licentious, ferocious, cruel man. 
This dynasty was closed in Italy by the indignant deposition 
of Charles the Fat. 

For the sixty years then ensuing, wretched Italy was torn 
by internal wars, and by the incursions of foreign foe& The 
iiombard duchies, by family alliances, and conquests of the 
weak by the strong, were reduced to but five or six. Among 
these the beautiful duchy of Tuscany, separated by a diain of 
mountains from the rest of Italy, was perhaps the most prom- 
hient and prosperous. The dukes of Adalbert administoiK 
tliifl province for a century and a hal^ and their court was n 



Downed as one of the most brilliant and snmptaoas among 
the great feudatories. The other great dukedoms were 
those of Friuli, Spdeto, lyrea, and Susa. The strife between 
these dukes for the snpremaoy was bitter and interminable. 
Berenger, dnke of Frioli, at length obtained the election, and 
was crowned at Pavia by the Archbishop of Milan. Th€ 
diadem he wore proved to be truly one of thorns. 

The reader would but be wearied with the narrative of 
the petty intrigues, and incessant conflicts betwe^i these rival 
dukes, for the nominal sovereignty of Italy. Passing over 
the dreary record of treachery, wars, poisonings, and assassi- 
nations, in which but little can be found either to interest or 
instruct, we find, in the year 961, a foreign prince, Otho, king 
of Saxony, invading Italy. He conquers the realm, dethrones 
Berenger 11., and sends him to end his days in a Grerman 
prison, and Otho is crowned soverdgn with the title of empe- 
ror. Thus Italy, after having been annexed as a subjugated 
kingdom to Greece, and then to France, is now grasped by 
Germany. The country was now covered with castles. Each 
duke was a petty sovereign over his domains, whi \^\ he divided 
into smaller portions administered by vassal oomits who paid 
him tribute, took the oath of fealty, and obediently followed 
his liege lord in his wars. The dukes owed the emperor of 
Germany feudal service, and took the oath of allegiance to 
him. The counts, in their turn, divided the land apportioned 
to them among their captains. The condition of the people, 
robbed at every point, was depressed and miserable in the 
extreme. 

For half a century the three Othos, Mher, son, and 
grandson, were acknowledged emperors and kings of Italy 
And then, when the house of Saxony became extinct, for 
eighty years more the succeeding German emper irs held 
sway over Italy, promulgating laws, and exacting homage 
and feudal rents from the subjugated realm. Southern Italy 
atill remained partially aubject to Constantinople. Romai 



THX 1ITNA8TT OV THX QOTH8. 431 

wiA its appertaming twritorj, was organiied into a duke- 
dom, gorerned in its temporal matters bj a duke sant by 
tiki eoapestOT from Constantinople. The pope of Rome bad, 
howerer, now, &r more power than the dvil magistrate. He 
WIS recqgniaed as the head of all the western or Latin ch^irches. 
Hie pdqpsej had become the highest object of ambition to the 
whole sacerdotal order. Piratic barons, and joung libertines, 
whose claims were urged bj the Roman ladies, not nnfre* 
^[iwntly attained the pontifical chair. The chorch, in its state 
of eormpdon, <^perating npon the fiaars of an ignorant and 
nqtorstitioaa people, had acquired immense wealth, and was 
makmg impd strides toward the subjugation of the popular 
mind hy the powers of superstiticm, in which there 
adnntly Uended the most poleni eteooMnta of the old | 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE ITALIAN RBPUBLIOfl. 

From a. a 1085 to A. a 1266o 

ov ram Ooinun.— Hii;DsuiAin».>-Hir]iiuATioir or «■■ Ibnmm 
Hbnbt iy.>-.I>OMiiaoN OF THB Gbrman Expibb otsb Italy*— Wab vnwmf 

TBM EmPSBOB and LoMBABDT.-^OtTTHBBir ItALT.— OBOANIZATIOH OF VKB KlM- 

OOM OF Naflbb.— Thb Nobmav Emiobation.— 'Thb YBinmAjr BsFiTBua— in 
Bibb and Yioisbitvdbs.—Italian Ghabaotbb.— Thb Obusadbb.— Confuot ■» 
TWBK HoiMMtns IIL AHD Fbbdbho IL— Avaboit III Bo(ii&— OoBqinm of rm 
KiNODOM OF Naplbb bt Chablbs of AnjoUw— Flobbnob.— Its CoNFUon. 

niHE papal church was now becoming the great power 
-^ which for centuries was to overshadow Italy and all Ba 
rope. The genius of Hildebrand, an obscure monk of Tvuk 
cany, combined its energies, and guided them in the career of 
conquest. In the cloistered solitude of his study he devised 
his plan for the subjugation of the world to the papal tbrona 
The election of the popes was vested in the cardinals. The 
clergy were detached from human society by the law of celiba- 
cy. The pope was declared to be God's vicegerent, incapable 
of erring, and above all human law. In the face of the most 
violent opposition, he accomplished all his plans. The poww 
of the pope over the popular mind became so extraordinary, 
that no king could hold his crown in opposition to the will of 
the holy father. Inauguration by his hand became aL essen- 
tial title to the crown. 

The Gennan emperor Conrad, who succeeded Henry II. 
hastened to Rome, to receive the diadem from the hands of 
the pontiff. Being engaged in distant wars, he could devote 
but little attention to Italy, and for many years the peninsula 
presented an aspect of anarchy. Nobles, bishops, and citizenfi 



THX ITALIAN KXPITBIiIOS. VB 

istmg^ei against each oUmt in Uoodj wmrfitfe. In die jw 
A. D. 1073 Hildebrand was cfaoseo pope, with the tide of 
Gregory the VIL During the long minority of the cmperar 
Henry IV., of Germany, the sagacity of HBdebrmnd had been 
diligently employed in pushing the papal encroachmenta. 
Neyer did a more imperial mind dwell in a fleshly tabemadoL 
The pope and the emperor soon found tfaemsdTes in coDisioBy 
each claiming the supremacy. Hie quarrd arose upon the 
right of inrestiture, or in other words, whether bish^.^ps and 
dukes were to conader th^nselreB as Taasals of the pope or 
the emperor. Hostile messages were sent to and fino, until tha 
pope had the arrogance to summon ibe emperor to af^ieai 
before him in Rome. TTie indignant soreragn assemUed a 
council of prelates and otho- Tassab at Worms, and declared 
Gr^ory no longo- to be worthy to be recognized as pope 
Gr^rory, in retafiadon, excommunicated Henry, released hia 
snbjects fixMn the oath of allegiance, and prohibited theaii, 
ander pcdn of eternal damnation from supporting the emperai^ 
or in any way ministering to his wants. 

Hie people were so orerawed by the terrors of this decree^ 
that they at once abandoned their soTcreign ; and he was left 
ntteriy ruined and helpless. Undo- the dictation of the pope 
the princes met at Oppenheim, to choose another emperor. 
Henry IV., in dismay and desfiair, cr-jrss««] the Alps, in the 
dead <^ winter, to throw hiin$ie!f at the feet of the o^ended 
pontiff and implore fbrgiveDess. Greg^3Ty was then at the 
castle <^ CanosssL near Rerggio, in the domain of Hatilda, the 
opulent and powerfjl c»:»'3ni«s$ of Tuscany, who was, with al 
he enthusiasm of her rfovinz s-c^-aL devo:**! %o the jcapacy. 

For three days, in mf -i-win^er, the abject monarch stood a 
E^nppGant at ibe y->rral of ibe ca?t!e hefore he cc'sl'l be admit- 
ted- Bare^;«c»tieid, bisLPeh^^s^i-e-i. ar:d e3c'*!jei in a wc-r^en ^mt, 
he was cic-z:i:«e!3'ed to wah, that the worid nslght witness his 
hmni5at>:ci. At length the L^Ti^ty jixi'aff ccnde^ocDded ta 
iriant aheoi^ulioo to the pe^ft^nt. The reiroBcafiaticn whxk 

19 



4M ITALY. 

ensued was fiir from corral, and Heniy, mortified and 

perated, returned to his realms, watching for an cpportnnity 
more sucoess^illy to resume the strife. Soon the ecclesiastical 
censure was renewed, and the emperor was again deposed. 
In the meantime Henry lY. had strengthened his cause, and 
the pope's bull had lost somewhat of its terror. Both parties 
now prepared for war. 

Matilda, the celebrated countess of Tuscany, and some 
other Italian feudatories, placed their troops at the service of 
Gregory. Henry led an army into Italy; the papal troops 
were routed ; Gregory was deposed, and Guibert, archbishop 
cf Ravenna, was raised to the papacy by the sword of the 
emperor. The grateful pontiff placed the imperial crown, with 
the blessing of the church, upon the brow of the conqueror. 
Gregory VH. sought refuge among the Normans of Naples. 

The Neapolitans, led by the holy father, whom the 
emperor had deposed, marched against Rome. Henry IV. 
retreated. They captured the city and surrendered it to mili- 
tary license, fire and the sword. Gregory reinstated, but 
still humiliated, believing himself no longer secure in Rome, 
retired to Naples, where he remained in virtual exile until he 
died, with his last breath hurling an anathema against his un- 
relenting foe, the emperor. His successors, Victor HI., Urban 
n., and Paschal H. continued the conflict, aided by the ama- 
zonian energies of the Countess Matilda. Henry was driven 
out of Italy, and, dethroned by his own son, Henry V., died 
a broken hearted old man, in the extreme of destitution and 
misery. 

For fifteen years the struggle continued between Henry V 
and the Roman pontiffs. At length they entered into a com 
promise, the pope resigning the temporal, and the emperor 
the spiritual prerogatives of investitures. During this long 
war of sixty-three years, a series of republics had been grad- 
ually springing up in northern Italy. The great cities had 
become the centers of these republics, and the old feudal 



THB ITAI.IAS BXP1TBI.IC0. 



Wfctaty had gndoallj paned ^waj. Tte cml wv tal 
w a d e ned H neoesBirj Uat walk flfaoold be reared aroond the 
towns. Hie somid of an alami-bdl aarwiiiUlMl all the bmb^ 
e^iable Off bearing anna, in the great aqoarei and this meetii^ 
fiir delibenition, was called a parUammL Two ooosak, and 
a common ooandl, sobmitted qneationa to the deciaon of the 
parliament. While moRt of these northern fi^ee dtiea oqb- 
fesbed a yagne aDegiance to the Gennan empenM-, ofhera, aa 
Venice, Ravenna, Borne, Naples, and Genoa, sdll remained 
BominaDj onder the away of the eastern empire. Afanoat tks 
only indications of the existence of the imp e iiai power which 
now remained, was that the name of the emperor was affixed 
to the mnnidpal acts, and his effigy was stamped iqion the 
oain. The democrade dtiea of Lcmbardy poaagnsfd bni fittia 
cf the sfint of true demooacy. The stroBger were ever 
eager to domineer over the weaker. Miian ennhed Lo£ and 
acattered its dtixens into villagea, tranqWing upon all their 
rights. TTie Lodiae, after years of o ppr e mii on, lypealed to flm 
emperor Frederic for hdp. 

Glad of this opportonitj to strengthen his power in Italy, 
the emperor with a small but vigoroos and efficient amy 
e r oas e d the Alps, and, advandng through the Trentine TsDey, 
entered the plains of Lombardy. Here pedtionos crowded 
aronnd him, imploring protection from the haughty, tyran- 
nical, aristocratic democracy of Milan. In a crael mardi of 
desolation and plunder the emperor rsTished the country. 
Many citiea were in alliance with the Milanese, while othen 
e^KHiaed the cause of the empatx*. Notwithstanding the 
aCrength of the imperial anny, the walls of Milan were so 
substantial, and the preparaticHis for defense so ample, that 
the first movemeots of Frederic were against the allied citiea. 
TuBoit YercelH, AstL, and Tortona, after bloody battles and 
protracted si^es, fell into his hands. The Taliant little oi^ 
of Tortona for two months defied the emperor. 

The emperor was provided with the most powerful nu^ 



4B6 ITALY. 

chines of war then in use. TVlth the haHsts of the anoientfli 
he threw such masses of rock into the city, that three men 
were crashed by the fall of a single piece. Bat famine at 
length compelled to capitulation, and Tortona was razed to 
the ground. Frederic, having demolished or subdued most 
of the cities in the alliance with Milan, entered Pavisi, and 
there received the celebrated iron crown of Lombardy ; — the 
iron of which it was wrought, was said to be one of the 
spikes which had pierced our Saviour, and was deemed far 
more precious than gold. He then advanced to Rome, that 
he might receive his imperial crown from pope Adrian IV. 
The pope was now so powerful, and it was deemed so essen- 
tial to the perpetuity of any reign that the coronation should 
be hallowed by the blessing of the pontiff, that the haughty 
Frederic condescended to do homage to his spiritual lord, by 
holding his stirrup while he descended from his mule. It was 
not until after this act of humiliation that the pope would 
confer upon him the kiss of peace. Having been crowned at 
Rome, the emperor returned to Germany, after an absence of 
one year, without even ventunng to approach the walls of 
Milan. 

The Milanese and Frederic made new preparations for the 
prosecution of the war. The influence of Milan was so great 
that the whole of Lombardy was combining against the em« 
peror. With a hundred thousand infantry and fifteen thou- 
sand cavalry, Frederic commenced his march again through 
the passes of the Alps, and, with this immense force, invested 
the city. Massive walls of vast circuit surrounded the <aty, 
and the bulwarks were protected by a broad and deep fosse. 
Battering rams and balistsB were here of but little avails and 
famine was manifestly the all-availing foe, which could alone 
bring the city to a capitulation. By this cruel enemy the 
Milanese were i^ubdued. History can express no sympathy 
for them. They deserved to be trampled upon by the power 



TBB ITALIAV BBPITB|.tOQ» M 

M, Ifar diej themaeives Biost imaenqNiloBdy kftl been inih 
pGng opon the weak. 

Hie tatmJbj was more &Yorable than the tyramiio ICIaneae 
tmd any lighi to expect from the tyrant of G^ermany. A 
large ransom was extorted ; they built a palace for the em* 
peror, and took the oath of all<^iance to him ; and they wero 
aDowed a certain degree of independoioe in the regulation of 
their mnnioipal affidrs. Frederic paid but little regard to his 
treaty; and encroachment followed encroachment as he en> 
deaYwed to reduce idl of Lombardy into oitire submission. 
The mangled worm turned against the foot that crushed iu 
With hcHrrible ferocity Frederic took yengeance* This cruelty 
roused new energies of despair. For two years the Milanese^ 
with thdr allied cities, fought the emperor, struggling throu^ 
and oret the smoldering ruins of Lombardy. Crema was 
demolished. The harvests were destroyed, the fields devas* 
lated, and at loigth, after scenes of misery which no pen can 
describe, Milan fell. 

For three weeks the emperor brooded over his vengeanosi 
while the Milanese waited trembling in suspense* He then 
ordered every man, woman, and child immediately to leave 
the dty. The mck, the dying, the newly bom, all were to ga 
Kot one was to be left behmd. With his army of one hun- 
dred and fiflieen thousand men, the emperor entered the 
deserted streets. The city was then surrendered to the 
troops for plunder. For several days they worked diligently 
^ wresting from it every thing they deemed of value. Then 
the order was issued for the utter demolition of the city and 
afl its defenses. For six days this immense army toiled m 
this work of destruction, and rested on the seventh day, their 
efforts bdng efi^tually accomplished. Milan was a heap of 
ruins, and aU her children were scattered, in misery and b^ 
gary, over the plains. A^i^ul was this doom. It was the 
which Milan had inflicted upon Lodi Aristocralio 



438 ITALY. 

ijraatfl oan do nothing worse thm demoorado tynmts are 
oapable of doing. 

Lombardy was now sabmissiYe in her chains and ber 
misery. Bat slaves will ever rise in insurrection. A con« 
spiracy was formed, organizing the fiunons Lombard League^ 
The leading dties of Lombardj oombined, taking advantage 
of the moment when the arms of the emperor were employed 
in the siege of Rome, as he endeavored to force upon the 
church an anti-pope in the place of Alexander m. Pestilence 
was breathed upon his army, and it perished in the Campania. 
The emperor was thus compelled to a disgraceful retreat 
beyond the Alps. Harassed by the cares of his vast empire, 
six years elapsed before the emperor could lead another army 
into the plains of Lombardy. In the spring of 1176, the 
peals of the imperial bugles were heard, as the gleam of the 
olken banners were again seen winding through the defiles of 
the Alps. Milan, in the meantime, having been rebuilt, and, 
with the other cities of Lombardy, had made vigorous prepa- 
ration for the conflict. 

The hostile armies met on the plain of Legnano, about 
fifteen miles from Milan. What was called rdiguyus onthu- 
dasm inspired the Milanese with fiend-like ferocity. The 
banner of the cross was borne on a sacred car called the 
oarrocio, in memory of the ark of the covenant which guided 
the Israelites to conquest. Imploring the aid of St. Ambrose, 
the canonized archbishop of Milan, and of St. Peter, and 
having taken a solemn vow, upon the sacraments of the 
Lord's Supper, that they would conquer or perish, they 
rushed, regardless of wounds and death, upon the imperial 
squadrons, and trampled them in the dust. For eight miles 
the plain was covered with the slaughter of the fugitives. 

The imperial army was so utterly overthrown and dispen* 
ed, that for some time the fate of the emperor was uncertain. 
Three days after the battle he appeared in Pavia, alone, and 
in the disguise in which be had escaped from the horrible 



THB ITALIAN BBPVBLICB. 439 

Boene of carnage. Pavia, the imperial head-quarters, and gov 
emed by the imperial troops, had not thrown off the yoke of 
German sabjection. For twenty-two years Frederic had been 
fBtrnggling against the independence of Lombardy. With 
Beven armies he had swept their doomed territory, inflicting 
atrocities the recital of which sickens humanity. The fatal 
battle of Legnano left him for a time powerless, and he was 
compelled to assent to a trace for six years. At the expin^ 
tion of this truce, in the year 1183, by the peace of Constance, 
the comparative independence of Lombardy was secured ; a 
gttieral supremacy of dignity rather than of power being con« 
ceded to the emperor. 

Southern Italy was stiU in a state of nominal subjection to 
the eastern, or Greek empire, whose sovereigns resided at 
Constantinople. There were many intrigues, and some battles 
between the Grecian and the German emperors for dominion 
oyer these coveted realms. Years of obscurity, confusion and 
petty wars rolled on in which nothing occurred worthy of be- 
ing recorded. Sicily was in the power of the infidel Saracens, 
and their piratic craft infested all the neighboring seas, often 
making devastating inroads upon the land. The natural his- 
tory of the lion, the tiger, and the leopard, is but a record of 
dov.like mildness, when compared with the natural history 
cvr man. His reign upon earth has been but the demoniac bt 
fliction of blood and woe. 

<'*TiB dangerous to rouae the lioi^ 
Deadly to croea the tiger's patii, 
Bat the most terrible of terrors, 
Is man himself in his wild wrath.* 

Early in the tenth century the Normans established them- 
selves in France. Embracing nominal Christianity, they were 
inspired with zeal to visit the shrines of saints and martyrs in 
Palestine. Traversing France and Italy they embarked for 
the Holy Land. They thus became acquainted with the fertile 
bcmI, and llie luxurious dime of southern Italy. The effenniii^ 



4M ITALT. 

ey of the inhabitants invited invasioc. The old Normao 
barouB, steel clad, and followed by retamers armed to the 
teeth, commenoed emigrating. Their nmnbers rapidly in- 
creased, and they began to accmnulate near Naples. The 
Greek emperor undertook to rescue SicUy from the infidel 
Saracens, and enlisted in his army three hmidred of these steel 
sinewed Norman cavaliers. They fought fiercely and successi- 
fblly, bat, dissatisfied with the division of the spoil, they form- 
ed a conspiracy to wrest the whole of southern Italy from the 
dominion of the Greeks. With an army of but seven hun- 
dred horse and five hundred foot, they commenced the bold 
enterprise. They soon were in entire possession of Apulia, a 
province about the size of the state of Massachusetts, now 
belonging to the kingdom of Naples. This beautifiil province 
was divided among twelve Norman counts, whose fiefe formed 
a feudal republic. One of their number, William of the Iron 
Arm, was invested with a general supremacy to lead them to 
battle. 

Pope Leo IX., alarmed by their encroachments, raised aa 
army for their destruction. Germans, Greeks, and Lombards 
were assembled beneath the sacred banner, and the pope in 
person was so forgetful of his office as to lead the host. These 
scenes occurred anterior to the events we have been describing 
in Lombardy. 

Reinforcements from France hastened to the camp of 
William, and the Norman and the papal troops met in bat- 
tle. The troops of the pontiff were utterly routed, and 
Leo himself fell into the hands of his enemies. But relig- 
ion, degenerating into superstition, leads men to the strangest 
freaks. These devout, blood-stained warriors, true children 
of the church, prostrated themselves before their holy captive, 
and implored absolution for the guilt of defending them- 
selves ag^st him. The simple hearted ecclesiastic, not only 
pardoned them, and granted them the fitll possession of the 
lands they had conquered, as a fief of the holy see, but, in 



THB ITALIAN BSPUBLIOfl* 441 

Mcordanoe with ecclesiastical morality in that age, conferred 
upon them the investiture of all the lands they might subse- 
quently conquer in southern Italy. The pope and the war- 
riors thus took leave of each other, exceedingly good friends, 
and pledged to mutual assistance. 

Slowly and surely the Normans advanced, until they had 
conquered all the country which now constitutes the kingdom 
of Naples. Thirty years of carnage and misery was the price 
paid for this conquest. The reabn was divided into two 
duchies, Calabria and Apulia. Sicily was attached to them as 
a fief, under the rule of one who possessed the title of great 
Count. At length Roger 11., collecting in his hands the united 
powers of duke of Apulia and Calabria, and great count of 
Sicily, ambitiously attained the kingly crown, by papal inves- 
titure. Naples became the capital of the kingdom. The 
force of habit and of institutions is such that for six hundred 
years the kingdom of Naples acknowledged the superiority 
of the popedom. 

The Venetian republic was making rapid strides in wealth 
and. power. It, however, fought its way to opulence and 
renown through innumerable petty yet bloody battles, with 
surrounding foes. Venice had entered into the Lombard 
league against the emperor Frederic, but stiU she never hesi- 
tated to violate her pledge when it seemed for her interest so 
to do, even joining the emperor to destroy her sister dty, 
Ancona, hoping thus to crush a rival in the commerce of the 
Adriatic. The dukes or doges of Venice, through ebbs and 
IU)ods of fortune, through defeats and victories, were gradu* 
aDy making accessions to their domains. The Joges were 
nominated in a general assembly of the citizens. This oHeo 
gave rise to very bitter and tumultuous factions. So jealous 
were the people lest there should be the claim of hereditary 
right to the dukedom, that it became a fundamental law of 
the state, that the reigning doge should lever associate a son 
in the government. The doge was also associated with a 



442 tTAX.T 

ooimcil, who were to co5perate with him in aD imporfafil 
measures. At length, as the republic increased, a sort of 
legislature, composed of four hundred and eighty del^ates, 
was organized ; while a smaller counsel assisted the doge In 
measures requiring special or secret despatch. 

This Venetian constitution prepared the repub&e for a 
very brilliant career, of political and commercial grandeoK 
All Europe was soon engaged in the wars of the crusades for 
the recovery of the Holy Land fi-om the infidels. The same 
influences which organized the powerftd republics of Lorn- 
bardy and Venice, also soon constituted many others, such as 
Flsa, Genoa, and Tuscany. The maritime republics became 
yastly enriched by the crusades, — ^transporting troops to 
Palestine and conveying back the valuable products of eastern 
climes. Venice alone, employed two hundred vessels in this 
business. But a very fierce and disgraceful spint of rivalry pre- 
vailed between the republics of Venice, Pisa, and Genoa, and 
they were almost constantly engaged in implacable warfare. 
Their boasted love of liberty, was liberty to trample upon the 
rights of others. They wished to have no masters, but to be 
masters. Such love of liberty, liberty for ones-self and op- 
pression for others deserves, and has ever encountered divine 
indignation. 

The Italian character, at this age of the world, presents 
few attractive features. We have been accustomed to ap- 
plaud their indomitable love of liberty. But haughty, revenge- 
ful, and domineering, the Italian grasped power only to wield 
it for his own selfish purposes, and he was ever ready to crush 
any one who stood in the way of his own advancement. 
Every city was the foe of e\ ery other city, and they could 
never unite, save when driven together by a common enemy. 
The old conflict between the aristocratic and plebeian orders 
raged with unabated virulence. Religion degenerated into 
mere ecclesiasticism, having but little influence over political 
or social evOs. Heresy was a deadly crime. Wrong and 



THB ITALIAN BBPUBLIOB. 448 

antrage were venial offences with which the church did not 
stoop to intermeddle. 

About this time the afflictive intelligence reached Europe, 
that Jerusalem had fallen before the power of the " great and 
mighty Saladin." The emperor Frederic roused aU his ener- 
gies for a new crusade. Leading in person his armies, he was 
drovmed in crossing a swollen stream in Armenia. Henry VL 
succeeded to the imperial crown of Italy and Germanv. His 
sway over Italy, as we have shown, was very indefinite, being 
nominal rather than real. Henry was a ferocious monster, 
whose only virtue was a sort of bull-dog courage. Tancred, 
of the Norman line, was now upon the throne of Naples and 
Sicily. Henry led an army for the conquest of Naples, to 
compel the recognition there of his imperial power ; but ho 
utterly failed. 

Quite suddenly Tancred died in the flower of his age, 
leaving the throne to his widow and child. The savage 
emperor again pounced upon Naples, took both mother and 
child captive, tore out the eyes of the poor boy, and sent 
both him and his mother to the dungeons of a prison. He 
then plundered the whole kingdom remorselessly, and pun- 
ished with great severity all the nobles who had fought for 
Tancred. Some were hanged, some burned alive, and others 
had their eyes plucked out. In the siege of a castle, God, in 
mercy, caused the monster to be stricken dovm. An instinor 
tive sense of justice leads one to rejoice in the divine declara- 
tion, " After death cometh the judgment." 

With no recognition of the fraternity of man, all Italy 
continued convulsed with internal feuds, the oppressed of 
to-day being the oppressors of to-morrow. The republics, 
internally, were agitated by contending factions ; while hos- 
tile fleets and armies were incessantly meeting in the shock 
of war. The antagonistic nobles reared their castles of mas- 
sive stone, strengthened with towers, capable of repelling 
assault and enduring siege. Huge gates of iron defended the 



«ft4 ITALY. 

entnyice, while armed retainera, by day and by night, patrolled 
the Bolid walls. In the interior there was conBtructed a stiU 
more impregnable tower, called the donjon, or keep, to which, 
in the last extremity, the lord could retreat with his followers. 
These old feudal castles were as gloomy as prisons, and imiag- 
ination can hardly conceive of a more unattractive existence 
than that which must have been passed within their waUs. 
Ihe horrors of an assault must have been ahnost welcome, as 
a relief from the dreary monotony. 

The death of the emperor Henry YL left a minor, Fred- 
erc IL, hereditary heir of the imperial throne. At the same 
time pope Innocent IIL, an exceedingly energetic and ambi- 
tious man of thirty-seven, was raised to the tiara. Under his 
administration the ecclesiastical pretensions of the papacy 
soared to a stupendous height. He devised the plan of 
seizing upon a state in the heart of Italy, that the spiritual 
prerogatives of the pope might be sui^ained by temporal 
power. With consunmis^ ability he accomplished his plans, 
wielding such dominion over all the temporal powers of Eu- 
rope, that every monarch trembled before bim*. He funded 
the two orders of Franciscan and Dominican friars, whose 
especial mission it was to extirpate heresy, and to repress -all 
spirit of inqmry, and all activity of mind. 

Innocent IH. also organi^d the inquisition, intrusting its 
fearful powers to the Dominicans. He addressed his orders 
to the sovereigns of Em*ope with as mudi arrogance as if 
they had been merely his body servants. He formed a league 
of a large number of the Italian cities, called the Ghielphic 
league, to &var the pretensions of the pontiff, in opposition 
to another league called the Ghibelline, in favor of the emperor. 
ffis intrigues were innumerable to place upon the throne of 
the German empire a prince who would be entirely submis- 
sive to his wilL Innocent retained his scepter, ever gory 
wit^ the blood of heretics, for eighteen years, when he passed 
to the tribunal of the King of kings — he the murderer of 



THB ITAl^IAir BBPUBLICB. 446 

flKrasands — lie whose edicts have filed iHioie provincefi wiA 
wailing and woe. 

Pope Honorius m., who saoceeded Innocent, refused to 
crown Frederic 11., upon attaining his majority, until he took 
an oath that he woold undertake the deliveranoe of Jerusalem 
from the Saracens. The kingdom of Naples was in a state of 
horrible anarchy, and Frederic led his armies to chastise th4) 
insurgents. He reared in Naples a magnificent palace, eetaSb- 
Gshed a university, and greatly embellished the beautiful capi- 
tal. Luxuriating in the pleasures of that delightfal dime, t&e 
emperor forgot his vow to fight his way over the sands of 
Syria, for the rescue of the Holy City. Gk>aded by the r^ 
proaches of the pope, he made reluctant and inefficient pr^ 
parations for the campaign, erer postponing energetic acdcMi, 
until Honorius died. Gregory IX., ivho succeeded, was so 
enraged by the dilatoriness of the emperor, that he thundered 
a bun of excommunication against him. 

This act of energy acoompMshed its purpose. The empe- 
ror, imploring pardon, sailed for Palestine, and, landing at 
Jean d' Acre, commenced operations. But the pope, astounded 
and horror stricken, that a guilty wretch, who already by a 
bUl of excommunicalaon was handed over to the dominion of 
satan, should have the presumption to enter upon so holy an 
enterprise, reiterated his folminations with renewed intense- 
ness. He even preached a crusade against Frederic, and sent 
an army to ravage his Italian kingdom of Naples. Frederic, 
perhaps, receiving a new impulse from these assaults, pressed 
forward, reconquered Jerusalem, and placed the crown upon 
his own brow. He then returned to Europe. The emperor 
and the pope, both fearing and detesting each other, concluded 
a hollow reconciliation. 

Tears rolled on, when Henry, son of Frederic H., insti- 
gated by the pope, revolted against his father. The energetic 
monarch crushed the rebellion, sent his son into imprisonment 
for life, ravaged thli plains of Lombardy, which had sympa 



446 ITALY. 

thized in the treason of the prince, with fire and sword, and 
reestablished his power. The pope again excommunicated 
Frederic, and directed a crusade against him as the enemy of 
the church. The emperor, in retaliation, put every one to 
death whom he found wearing the symbol of the cross. The 
pope summoned a council. The emperor sent a fleet to arrest 
thft French bishops on their voyage. Oenoa joined the pope ; 
Pisa the emperor. The hostue squadrons met near the island 
of Melona. The imperial party were the victors. Immense 
treasure, in specie, fell into their hands ; and the captive pre- 
lates were conveyed to Pisa, heavily loaded with chains forged 
from silver. The pontiff died of chagrin ; but the rancor of 
his spirit lived in his successor, Innocent IV. Secretly he re- 
paired to Genoa, thence to France, and summoned at Lyons a 
general council of bishops from France, Spain, and Italy. One 
hundred and forty met ; and with all the pageantry and sol- 
emnities of ecclesiastical power, declared that the emperor 
had forfeited all his dignities, and that his subjects were 
absolved from their oaths of allegiance. 

This was the most pompous act of excommunication the 
church had ever issued. It paralyzed the arm of Frederic 
For five years he struggled unavailingly against the adverse 
fortune, in which these anathemas involved him, till in the 
silence of the tomb he found refuge from the scenes of a 
tumultuous life, such as few mortals have experienced. 

Innocent IV., sheltered at Lyons, welcomed, with indecent 
rejoicings, the tidings of the death of Frederic 11. He re- 
turned to Rome, through Lombardy, visiting most of the 
Quelph cities, where he was received with great rejoicing. 
The Ghibelline cities, which had espoused the imperial cause, 
were in consternation, and breathlessly awaited their doom. 
But Conrad IV. the son and successor of Frederic 11., has- 
tened to Italy, to revive their drooping courage. The pope, 
declared that the kingdom of Naples, by the deposition of 
Frederic It. had reverted to the papacy. War was of oourse 



THB ITALIAH BBPVBLIC8. 447 

tin result I^fferent dttes espouBed different ndes. There 
were bumiiigB, plandering, carnage, outrage in every form, 
nuserj of e^ery aspect. T^e imperial army at length pre- 
vailed. Affiurs were thus when Conrad IV. died in the year 
1254, leaving an in&nt son. 

Hie hopes of the pope revived. The holy father raised an 
army and marched into the Neapolitan provinces, and forced 
all the barons to take the oath of allegiance to the holy see. 
Just then death's arrow cleft the air and quivered in the heart 
of Innocoit lY. There was a sable hearse, nodding plumes, 
waxen tapers, procesoions of ecclesiastics in all 1^ imposing 
robes of the church, chants, and requiems, — ^and Innocent 
TV^ in the darkness and silence of the tomb, was left to be 
forgotten, while the insane strife of pride and ambition raged 
In the sunlight, without any check. 

Rome was but a den of robbers. The populace were 
ignorant, fimatical, and Uood-thirsty ; the aristocracy, both 
eodesiaBtical and temporal, were haughty and licentious. The 
monuments of ancient grandeur were converted by the bartms 
into fortified castles, from whence they emei^ed for war or 
plunder, often filling the streets of the city with feuds, rapine, 
and bloodshed. The pope had exerted a little restraint ; but 
his removal to Lyons, where he resided for ^ye years, left the 
city to excesses which became absolutely intolerable. 1%e 
citizens, in thdr despair, sent for a Balognese noble, the cele- 
brated Brancaleone, and invested him with almost dictatorial 
power. Energetically and nobly he accomplished his mission. 
At ti» head of the dtizens he attacked the fortresses of the 
infamous nobles, who had set at defiance all the authority o 
civil law. One hundred and forty of these citadels, withi 
the walls, were battered down, the assailants laving first 
hanged their occupants on their own walls. This salutary 
severity worked quite a r^orm in the Roman pandemonium. 

In the Lombard rqsnblics, the conflict between the ar 
racy and the people increased in intensity, until in a fierc 



448 ITALY. 

war the people triumphed, and placed one of their partisani 
at the head of the government, which now retained only the 
empty forms of a republic. It was still one of the principal 
objects of the papacy to wrest Naples from the emperor. 
Upon the death of Alexander IV. his successor, pope Urban 
IV. offered the crown of Naples to the powerful French 
count Charles, of Anjou and Provence, if he would take the 
oath of allegiance to the pope, and aid in the conquest of the 
kingdom. Charles accepted the terms with alacrity. Accom« 
panied by a thousand cavaliers, with well tempered coats of 
mail, composed of a double net work of iron rings — with hel- 
mets, gorgets, cuirasses, brassets, and cuishes of solid steel, he 
sailed from Marseilles to Rome. His powerful army advanced 
by land, cutting its route through Lombardy. 

While these movoments were in progress Urban IV. died, 
and Clement IV. succeeded to the tiara. By him Charles, of 
^jou, was solemnly crowned, in the church of the Lateran, in 
Rome, king of the Two Sicilies. He then advanced to con- 
quer and take possession of his kingdom. An illustrious 
general, Manfred, was then in the supreme command of the 
imperial forces, and virtually king. The hostile forces met on 
the plains of Grandella. The battle was fierce. But Manfred 
was slain, his army dispersed, and the kingdom submitio^l to 
the victor. In accordance with the ferocity of the times, the 
principal adherents of Manfred were slain ; his wife and chil- 
dren were sent to a prison, where they lingered through all the 
remaining years of their wretched lives ; and the whole coun- 
try in the vicinity of the battle was surrendered to the sol- 
diers for pillage, md for the indulgence in any license passion 
might instigate. 

Two years after this battle the emperor, Conradin, then 
but nineteen years of age, crossed the Alps from Germany, 
with an army, to recover his lost kingdom of Naples. Trium- 
phantly he traversed northern and central Italy, and entered 
the frontiers of the Neapolitan kingdom The young warrior 



THE ITALIAir BBPUBLICS. 440 

outgeneraled by the reteran chieftain; his troops were 
eat to pieces, and the young emperor, who had not yet attain- 
ed his twentieth year, was taken captive and infamously exe- 
eoted. As he stood npon the scaffold and bowed his neck to 
the executioner, he exclaimed : 

*^0, my mother! dreadful will be the grief that awaits 
thee for my fate." 

Florence had attained the first rank among Italian cities. 
With sunny skies, a pure and salubrious clime, and surround* 
ed with a graceful amphitheater of hills, covered with vineyards 
and olive grounds, then was no other spot in beautL^ Italy 
which surpassed it in loveliness. Commerce and agriculture 
had filled the dty with a vast population and immense wealth. 
The Florentine cloths for three hundred years remamed i}nri- 
▼aled in Europe. There were two noble fisonilies in Florence 
of immense wealth and power. The chief of the one noble 
house, that of Buondelmonti, a young man of great elegance 
and corresponding vanity, was affianced to a daughter of the 
other house, that of Uberti. But at length he abandoned her 
for another beauty. The indignant fiiends of the forsaken 
one, in revenge, murdered the gallant at mid-day, as, in a gala 
dress, on a milk-white steed, he was riding through the streets. 
The dty was divided, and all Florence was embroiled in the 
deadly quarrel. The Buondelmonti party were attached to 
the church, and all the Ouelph party rallied around them. 
The Uberti family were partisans of the emperor, and were 
warmly sustained by the Ghibellines. For thirty-three years 
this deadly feud continued with incessant scenes of blood-shed. 
At length the Ghibelline nobles, aided by some German cav* 
airy, drove the Guelphs from the city, and seizing the govern- 
ment threw themselves under imperial protection. 

The people, crushed by aristocratic insolence, in less than 
two years rose in an insurrection, and revolutionized the gov- 
ernment, and the influence of the pope again became domi 
It was at this time thai; the celebrated Florentir 



450 XT ALT. 

called the florin, which attained such celebrity during tha 
middle ages, was issued from the mint. The Ghibellines 
appealed to the Sicilies, then under the emperor, to aid them. 
The two armies met before the gates of Sienna, and the Flor- 
entine Guelphs, though arrayed in a force of thirty thousand 
infantry and three thousand cavalry, were routed with dread 
ful slaughter. The 6ue]ph nobles fled, and Florence surren- 
dered to the Ghibellines. The city was held in subjection by, 
a strong force of foreign lancers garrisoned within its walls. 

The exiled Guelphs joined Charles of Anjou, as under the 
banners of the pope he marched to the conquest of Sicily. 
After the successful termination of this enterprise, aided' by 
Charles, they marched upon Florence, drove out the Ghibel- 
lines, and reestablished themselves there. Such was the con- 
dition of all Italy, generation after generation. The rush of 
armies, the blaze of conflagration, and blood-stained fields of 
battle, every where meet the eye. Now one party is victo- 
rious and now the other; and both are equally worthless. 
The aristocrat tramples upon the democrat ; and the democrat 
takes vengeance by trampling still more fiercely upon the 
weak, whom his strong arm can crush. Imperial Germany 
smites metropolitan Milan. And metropolitan Milan, spring- 
ing up from the blow, smites poor little Lodi. Aristocracy 
has been the curse of our globe, and history proves that this 
vice has existed with just as much venom in the heart of the 
plebeian as in the heart of the patrician. 

There is but one remedy for these evils. It is the dem- 
ocracy of the gospel of Christ — the recognition of the brother- 
hood of man. There is but one hope for the world, and th^ 
is in the extension of the pure religion of the gospel. Form 
of government are of but little avail so long as the men who 
wield those governments are selfish and depraved. When the 
hearts of men are changed by the influences of Christianity, 
BO thiit man the lion becomes man the lamb, then, and not tiU 
then, will the sword be beaten into the plowshare. Govern- 



THB ITALIAH BBPITBLICB. 451 

■leDtfi become better only bo fiut as the men who organize 
and adminJRter those governments become better. There 
may be republican empires, and there may be despotic repub- 
lics. The voice of all history prodainu^ that in the rehgion 
of Jeans is to be fonndt the only hope for this lost world. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

ITALIAN ANAROHT, 
From a. d. 1266 to ▲. n. 1400. 

yam QxTELrm ahi> Ohibkllinbs.— -Tragic Fatk op Boxifazio anp Imaida.—- 1 

OF THR Papal States.— Th» Bioiliak Vksfbbs.— CJonfliot Bbtwebn Gehoa ahd 
Pisa.— Ruin OF Pisa, — State of Flobemce. — Oi Sicily. — ^Thb Papal Co uet E»- 
MOTED to Avignon.— The Romance of Andebw and Joanna. — Conflict foe thb 
Tbeone of Naples.— General View of Italy.— Venice and Gbnoa.->Tidi 
Antagonistic Popes.— Their WAB8.~AooBesiON or Ladiblaus to the Throne or 
Naples. — Cruel Fate of Cokbtanob. 

rpHE triumph of the Guelph, or church party, in Florence, 
-^ banished the Ghibellines, and confiscated their property* 
It was in fact a triumph of the popular party over the aristoc- 
racy, who were generally imperialists. 

The record of the wealth and power to which the Vene- 
tian republic attained, remains to the present hour one of the 
marvels of history. Her fleet conquered Constantinople, and 
that city was retained by Venice for fifty-seven years. At 
the time of its greatest power, Venice held nominal sway over 
three eighths of the old Roman empire. For half a century 
Genoa and Venice were engaged m one incessant battle: 
fighting over the spoils of the eastern empire. Venice called 
Pisa to hei aid. Genoa entered into alhance with the Greeks, 
and thus the demon of war rioted over the wreck of humav 
happiness. 

The cruel death of Conradin terminated for many years 
*be German imperial sway m Italy. The emperors, entirely 
rfP grossed by troubles at home, had no forces to spare for the 
/econquest of these southern realms. From the middle of the 
thirteenth century for two hundred years, Italy presents a 



ITALIAK ANASCHT. 45ft 

tnmultuons scene of domestic tragedies, implacable factions, 
and miceasing wars. Charles of Anjou, whose escutcheon 
can never be cleansed from the blot of the foul execution of 
Conradin, pursued with merciless massacre all who were sus- 
pected of adherence to the Ghibelline party. The native Sid- 
Hans hated venomously their French conquerors. Charles, aa 
energetic as he was cruel, rapidly consolidated and strength- 
ened his power. Even Florence bestowed on him nominal 
seigniory, and the pope invested him with the high powers of 
vicar-general of Turcany. Nearly all the cities of Lombardy, 
ever exposed to outrage from the neighboring cities, chose 
Charles for their seignior ; while others sought for the most 
intimate alliance with him, offensive and defensive. 

These successes fed the flame of his ambition ; and, as he 
could rely upon the military arm of his powei-ftil brother Louis 
IX., king of France, he began to turn a wistful eye toward 
the fragments of the eastern empire. Pope Gregory X., the 
friend and almost the creature of Charles, endeavored in vain 
to compose the deep seated animosities which agitated Italy. 
An event which occurred at Bologna at this time, may hb 
mentioned in illustration of the melancholy condition of hu* 
manity. 

There were two rival noble houses, equally proud, haughty, 
and powerftd. One belonged to the Ghibelline, the other, to 
the Guelph faction. They had long been arrayed against each 
other, in deadly enmity. But love, in youthfid heaits, tri- 
umphed over domestic feuds. Bonifazio, of the one ^mily, 
loved the beautifrd Imalda of the other ; and his love was 
warmly requited. In one of their stolen interviews, in the 
palace of the maiden, her brothers, watching, rushed upon 
Bonifa2io, and, as their sister fled in terror, dispatched him 
with their poisoned daggers, and dragged his body to a de- 
serted court. The unhappy girl, returning, followed the traces 
of the blood, and found the yet warm and palpitating corpse 
of her lover. Fremded with agony, with the hope of reviving 



454 ITALT 

him she endeavored to suck the poison from his wounds. She, 
however, only imbibed the venom herself; and the two were 
found lifeless together. 

The two houses were goaded to desperation. Their re- 
spective factions espoused their cause. For forty days the 
battle raged almost incessantly in the streets and among the 
palaces of Bologna. The Guelphs triumphed. The Ghibd- 
lines, who had assassinated young Bonifiudo, were driven from 
Che city, with their associates. Their palaces were torn down, 
and ten thousand citizens were involved in their ruin. These 
exiles rallied in a distant town ; summoned all the neighboring 
Ghibellines to their aid, and marched upon Bologna, defeating 
the Guelphs in two battles without the walls. The Guelphs, 
alarmed, appealed to Charles of Naples. He sent them a gov- 
ernor and a garrison, and Bologna became a fief of Charles of 
Anjou. 

The independence of all Italy was now threatenefi by his 
assumptions. The pontiff was so mudi alarmed that he wi^ed 
to raise a power antagonistic to that of Charles, and influ^iced 
the German electors to give an efficient head to the empire by 
the choice of Rodolph of Hapsburg, the illustrious founder of 
the present house of Austria. The pope could now, in the fiir- 
therance of his plans, appeal to either one of these monarchs 
against the other, he holding the balance of power between 
them. 

Pope Gregory X. died in the year 12 76, and, in the short 
space of twelve months, three succeeding popes closed thdr 
mortal career. Nicholas III. was then invested with the 
tiara, and he wielded the pontifical scepter with consummate 
energy and sagacity. He was very adroit in playing Rodolph 
and Charles against each other. He thus succeeded in attach- 
ing to the holy see the provinces, or marches, as they were 
then called, of Romagna and Ancona, formerly belonging to 
the Countess Matilda. By this act the papal states acquired 
the extent of territory which they retain to the present day 



ITALIAN AKABOHT. 4M 

These states now contain about seventeen thousand square 
miles, being about equal to Massachusetts and New Hamp> 
shire united, and contain a population of about three millions. 
There^ were twenty provinces composing these states, some 
of them being provinces of considerable extent, and others 
inerely cities, each independent of the rest, and governed by 
Its duke, or lord, or assembly of citizens. The authority of 
the pope consisted merely in his taking the place of the 
emperor. He had no more control over their internal gov- 
ernment than the president of the United States has over that 
of the individual states. The states of the church took the 
oath of supremacy to the pope ; stamped his image upon their 
coin; paid him a certain amount of tribute, and scd^ th«tir 
allotted quota of soldiers to his banners in case of war. Thus 
affairs stood for two centuries. 

Italy was at this time essentially divided into three por- 
tions. All the provinces of southern Italy were combined 
into the kingdom of Naples, under Charles of Anjou. Cen- 
tral Italy was conglomerated into the papal states, under the 
sovereignty of the pope. The northern provinces acknowl- 
edged the feudal sovereignty, of Rodolph of Hapsburg, em> 
peror of Germany. 

Upon the death of Nicholas m., Charles of Naples, by 
bribery and threats, constrained the cardinals to place one of 
his own creatures, Martin IV., upon the papal throne. Aided 
by the pope, the ambitious tyrant was preparing an expedition 
for the conquest of Greece, when a terrible revolt broke out 
in his own realms. A man of amazing skill and sagacity, 
Procida, united all the bold barons of Sicily in a conspiracy 
to expel the French from Italy. Peter, king of Aragon, who, 
by marriage, was entitled to the throne of Naples, and the 
emperor Michael, at Constantinople, who was dreading the 
threatened invasion, joined eagerly to aid the insurgents. The 
oonspiracy burst like a clap of thunder in a cloudless day, and 



456 ITALY. 

with terrors which, to the present hour, have echoed throng 
the corridors of history. 

On Easter Monday, in the year 1282, as the citizens of 
Palermo, in gorgeons procession, were celebrating the resur* 
rection of oar Saviour, a young maiden, of rank and beauty, 
was brutally insulted by a French soldier. The crowd aveng- 
ed her by instantly piercing the wretch with his own sword. 
It was in the early evening, and the vesper bell was tolling; 
The hour of retribution had arrived. The stifled cry burst 
forth. Thousands, seizing their concealed weapons, rushed 
into the streets, and not a Frenchman in Palermo escaped. 
Four thousand perished that night. All over the island the 
work of death spread, and did not cease till dght thousand 
of the invaders perished in the horrible massacre of the 
Sicilian Yespbbs. 

All Sicily burst into a flame of insurrection. The French 
were utterly exterminated, and Peter, of Aragon, who was 
hovering near with a powerful fleet, was invited to assume 
and defend the kingdom. Charles, almost bursting with rage, 
instantly crossed the straits, and with an army which he had 
prepared for the Greek war, assailed Messina. But suddenly 
the formidable fleet of Peter appeared in the horizon, and 
Charles was compelled to a precipitate retreat — ^his whole 
fleet being seized and burned before his eyes. Peter of Ara- 
gon was now sovereign of Sicily. 

The pride of Charles was humbled to the dust. At the 
moment when in the lordliness of power he was exulting in 
the prospective conquest of the eastern empire, he found his 
arm of strength paralyzed. Even his own son was the cap- 
tive of Peter. Overwhelmed with agony he sickened, groan- 
ed, and died. 

The maritime city of Pisa had become, as it were, a nation. 
Lucrative traffic had lined her streets with palaces, and filled 
those palaces with opulence. The city, imperial in power, 
had established colonies at Constantinople, at Jean d'Acre, in 



ITALIAN AHAROHT. 45? 

Syria, and was in possession of Sardinia and Corsica. Her 
nobles, in the extent of their possessions, and the pomp of 
their retinues, often rivaled prinoes. The nugestio cathedral 
she had reared, and the beautiful leaning tower, lK>th erected 
in the doventh and twelfth centuries stiU remain ^nong the 
wonders of the world. 

Wealth and power fostered pride and arrogance; and Pisa 
feu. She grossly insulted Genoa, and outraged her rights. 
War ensued. For two years the powerftil republics struck 
each other terrific blows, and it was uncertain which would 
fall, crushed and dying on the arena. The envenomed battle 
could only terminate in the destruction of one or the other. 
A tempest, unfortunately or providentially, swept half the 
Pisan navy upon the rooks, and the bells in G^oa rang mer- 
rily. Twenty-four galleys laden with treasure, passing from 
Pisa to Sardinia, were captured by the Genoese; and still 
more merrily pealed her cathedral chimes, and still more 
pompously ascended the chaunt of her Te Deums. Pisa, in 
desperatioi^ roused for a decisive effort. 

The Pisans descended the Amo with three hundred gaUeys 
manned by twenty-five thousand troops. The Genoese met 
them, at the mouth of the river with one hundred and thirty 
galleys, crowded with thirty thousand troops. Providence 
aided the strong battalions, and the naval glories of Pisa in 
that dreadful day of tumult and carnage, perished forever. 
Eleven thousand were carried away into captivity. The re- 
mainder were sunk in the sea. Ten thousand of the prisoners 
perished in the dungeons of Genoa, during an impiisonment 
of eight years. The survivors, then but one thousand in num- 
ber, emaciate and woe-stricken, were ransomed and returned 
to their friends. 

With selfishness which should make human nature blush, 
the Guelph cities of Tuscany, all pounced together upon 
defenseless Pisa in this her hour of adversity. Through lin- 
gering scenes of desperation, agony, and crime, the republie 

20 



408 i;rALT. 

perished. Three short Bummers destroyed the growth of 
ages. 

Florence, agitated by factions of citizens and nobles, was 
in a state of incessant tumult and blood-shed. In the van- 
quishment of one of these parties, called the White Guelphs, 
an illustrious man, whose name is now immortal — ^Dante — was 
driven into exile, where he lingered sorrowfully until he died. 
The genius of suffering inspired his immortal poem. The In^ 
femo. The vision of hell, purgatory, and paradise, is by al- 
most unanimous assent, pronounced to be one of the loftiest 
creations of human genius. The personages of his own day 
live in the awful scenes of his poem, and their lineaments are 
painted upon the canvas in colors which can never fkde away. 

Peter of Aragon did not long survive the conquest of 
Sicily. Upon his death he transferred the crown to James, 
his second son. The crown of Naples, divested of the beau- 
tiful island of Sicily, remained upon the brow of Charles 11., 
son and heir of Charles of Ai\jou. Sicily contained ten thou- 
sand five hundred and eight square miles, being a little larger 
than the state of New Hampshire, and was inhabited by a 
mixed population of about two millions. It will be remem- 
bered that Charles, the son of the king of Naples, had been 
taken prisoner by Peter. He was subsequently released upon 
his relinquishing all claim to the island of Sicily. 

But oaths in those days were made but to be broken. Ai 
soon as Charles IL was safely seated on his throne of Naples, 
the pope absolved him from his oath, and crowned him king of 
Naples and of Sicily, or, of the Two Sicilies, as the insular and 
continental kingdom was then called. France united with 
Charles 11. Aragon combined with James of Sicily. The 
dogs of war were again let loose. In the midst of these wars 
and intrigues the king of Aragon died, and James 1^ Sicily 
to assume that richer crown. He passed the scepter of the 
island into the hands of his third brother Frederic 

In a spirit of infamy, whidi even all past atrocities do not 



ITALIAK ANABOHT. 459 

enable us to contemplate but with amazement, James of 
Aragon, then purchased the favor of the pope by marryixig t 
daughter of Charles II of Naples, surrendered Sicily again to 
Charles, and pledged lis armies to aid in its reconquest for 
Charles 11., should his brother Frederic and the Sicilians make 
any opposition to the transfer. For this act of perfidy the 
holy fiither gave James his blessing, and gave him Sardinia 
and Corsica, of which he had robbed Genoa, and of whiob 
Genoa had robbed Pisa. 

But Frederic was not disposed to lose his crown ; neither 
were the Sicilians ready to relinquish their independence. The 
war was long and fierce, but Frederic finally triumphed over 
his combined foes. The miserable pope Boni&oe VlU. event- 
uaDy died of insanity and rage. His successor Benedict XL 
was poisoned by two cardinals, hired to commit the deed by 
the king of France, called Philip the Fair. Hiilip then suc- 
ceeded in placing the tiara upon the brow, and the keys in the 
hands, of one of his own archbishops, whom he had bribed 
into the most uncompromising obedience to his wishes. 

Clement V. first very generously pardoned all the sins at 
the regal assassin; and decorated himself with those poo- 
tifical robes, beneath which the concealed king of Franoei 
directed all the movements of the automaton pontifT. For 
the accommodation of his royal master he abandoned Italy, 
and took up his residence in France. 

Nearly sixty years had now elapsed since any German 
emperor had descended the Alps, to assert, through terror of 
his banners, imperial sway in Italy. In the year 1310, Henry 
Vil., at the head of an imposing body of cavalry, came dat. 
tering down upon the plains of Lombardy. Nobles of ail 
ranks, leaders of all factions, ddegates firom all cities crowded 
to his head-quarters, to secure their own triumph, by being 
recdved into alliance with him. Henry wdcomod all with 
the same affiibility. By intrigue and a few battles he took 
possession of Lombardy, and plundered it mercilessly. But 



460 ITALY. 

no sooner had the vision of his banners disappeared, on the 
other side of the Alps, than all Italy was up in arms against 
him. 

The thunders of the approaching strife were reverberating 
over all the hUls of Italy, when death smote the monarch and 
he fell silent into the tomb. Louis of Bavaria, after a long 
and bloody war, had attained the imperial crown. He marched 
upon Italy to compel its homage. It was the summer of 
1327. At Milan he received the iron crown of Lombardy. 
He then marched into Tuscany ; captured enfeebled Pisa, 
after the short siege of a month; extorted heavy contribu- 
tions ; erected the state of Lucca into an imperial duchy, and 
then marched upon Rome. Here he wasted his time in the 
ceremony, then a mere frivolity, of being crowned emperor 
by the pope. 

Troubles in Germany suddenly compelled him to recross 
the Alps, and he left behind him in Italy the exasperating 
remembrance of plunder and outrage. Again anarchy and 
contending factions reigned in northern Italy. The wars of 
rival dukes, the battles of democratic cities, the intrigues of 
petty factions, have, in the lapse of time, become too insignifi- 
cant to be recorded, though in the day of their virulent ac- 
tivity they were the wide spread cause of woe. 

Robert of Naples, during the most of a long reign, had 
protected his kingdom from internal strife and foreign invar 
sion, though much of the time he had been engaged in foreign 
wars. When Frederic of Sicily died, after a military reign 
of forty years, he was succeeded by his son Peter H. This 
monarch had hardly taken his seat upon the throne, ere be 
lied, leaving it to his infant son Louis. Robert of Naples, a 
melancholy old man, drawing near to death, with no ma^e 
heirs, offered the crown to Andrew, son of his nephew, king 
of Hungary, on condition that the lad should repair to the 
eourt of Naples for his education, and, in due time, should 



ITALIAN AKABOHT. 461 

marry Joanna, the emperor's orphan granddaughter, then a 
child of seven years. 

Andrew proved to be a low, brutal, semi-savage, weak in 
ntellect, and barbarous in manners— entirely beyond the reaoh 
of refined culture. The beautiful Italian princess, reared in the 
most biilliant though most corrupt court in Europe, despised 
the princely boor, who was destined to be her husband. 
Robert, eighty years of age, convinced of the utter incapacity 
of Andrew to reign, left the throne to Joanna, excluding 
Andrew. He established a regency, providing that her ad« 
mimstration should not commence until the completion of her 
twenty-fifth year. 

Joanna was but sixteen when her grandfather died. She 
was beautiful, vivacious, inexperienced, of impassioned ^em> 
perament, and was surrounded by princes of the blood, high- 
born gallants, dissolute men, and dissolute women, in a court 
which has seldom been rivaled in the splendor of its voluptu- 
ousness. The religion of the court was the religion of eode- 
siasticism and ceremony, not the religion of political integrity 
and moral purity. The result was, as a matter of course. 
Joanna became a beautiful wanton. 

Andrew and Joanna quai-reled. Both claimed the crown. 
Two parties were formed. The friends of Joanna seized 
Andi*ew one night, in a remote castle to which he had heea 
lured, on a hunting excursion, slipt a noose which had beeo 
carefully prepared over his neck, and threw him out of one 
of the windows. The foul murder created an insurrection. 
The Hungarian party gained the ascendency. Joanna was 
compelled to surrender the assassins, and they were put to 
death with fiightful tortures. 

Louis, the elder brother of Andrew, was now king of 
Hungary. He gathered an army to avenge the &te of his 
brother, and, as his heir, to claim the throne of Naples. The 
queen, in the meantime, had married one of her lovers. The 
nobles and the people welcomed the army of invasion, and 



462 ITALY. 

Loois, almost witbont a struggle, took possession of the 
throne. He did not long retain it. Leaving garrisons in the 
strong places he returned to Hungary. The queen rallied her 
friends, having secured the co5peration of the pope, and after 
a warfare of three years, during which the most shocking 
atrocities were perpetrated on both sides, she r^ained her 
kingdom. 

The popes still continued, under French sway, to reside in 
Avignon in France. Their supremacy in Italy was decidedly 
weakened by this foreign residence. Decayed and debauched 
nobles occupied the edifices in Rome, which remained majestio 
monuments of ancient grandeur. From these fortresses they 
sallied forth, with their retainers, in the prosecution of party 
feuds, of public robberies, and of nameless outrages of the 
darkest iniquity. The shadow of republican institutions was 
retained. It was, however, but the shadow. The citizens 
were reduced to the deepest misery, by the insolent excesses 
of the nobles, who garrisoned their castles with robber bands, 
setting all laws at defiance. 

In the year 1342, a deputation from Rome visited the 
pope at Avignon, imploring him to reestablish the holy see in 
its original seat. Clement YI., who was then the pope, de- 
clined, and . the people of Rome, in despair, rose against the 
nobles. Rienzi, the leader of this reform, as soon as he felt 
the reins of power in his hands, intoxicated with success, 
plunged into voluptuous and capricious tyranny, which rivaled 
that of the nobles whom he had overthrown. Loaded with 
obloquy, Rienzi abdicated his power and fled from Rome, and 
the city relapsed into its former anarchy. 

For the first half of the fourteenth century all Italy waa 
the theater of incessant sanguinary wars, provoked by the 
selfishness and ambition of the rival states. It mattered but 
little what forms of government were adopted, the powerful 
were ever endeavoring to trample upon the weak, and the 
weak were combining to trample upon the powerful. In the 



ITALIAK AHABCHT. 463 

jmr 1846, a general fiimine desolated Italy The famine waa 
followed the next year by pestilence, which spread over all 
Europe. The history of the world affords no parallel to this 
great pestilence, which, it is estimated, swept away three-fifths 
of the human race. It was impossible to bury the dead. All 
restraints were forgotten, all the ties of hmnanity were un- 
loosed in the general consternation. 

It seemed as though the pestilence was doing the work of 
the flood~~ezterminatmg a race unfit to occupy the earth. 
But so soon as the ravages were stayed, the survivors grasped 
their arms and renewed their insane assaults upon each other. 

Venice claimed to be queen of the Adriatic, and as such 
to be exclusively entitled to the navigation of that sea. A 
yearly ceremony was introduced by which the doge, in type 
of this sovereignty, wedded the Adriatic Genoa resisted the 
daim, and sent one hundred and sixty galleys, with thirty 
thousand soldiers, to enforce her protest. Venice raised a 
dmilar force. Horrid scenes ensued of carnage on the sea, 
and slaughter and conflagration on the land. 

In the progress of this war the government of Venice 
gradually passed into the hands of the aristocracy, and the 
fiimous Council of Teh was organized, which long ruled Ven- 
ice with despotic sway, unhappily the only sway which could 
preserve from anarchy. The gloomy tranquillity of the prison- 
dungeon prevailed in the streets of Venice, while all other 
cities of Italy were in an incessant ferment. The innocent 
and the guOty were alike liable to be stricken down. Every 
act of the government was veiled in fearful obscurity. Spies 
were everywhere. Individuals of highest position disappear 
ed, never to be heard of again. Ko one dared ask a question 

Let us contemplate for a moment the aspect of Italy in the 
middle of the fourteenth century. Rome was rapidly falling 
into decay. The seat of the popedom was removed to Avig- 
non, beyond the Alps, and the pope was but little more than 
the tool of the soverdgns of France. Clement VL, the reign- 



464 ITALY 

mg pope, was a debauched old man. In Na| les Joanna held 
her voluptnouB court. Central Italy, extending from th€ 
northern frontiers of Naples to the southern limits of Lom- 
bardy, was divided by the Apennines into Tusoany on the 
west, and Romagna on the east. The papal states, with Rome 
for their metropolitan city, intervened between these provinces 
and the Neapolitan kingdom. North of Tuscany and Romag- 
na came the great province of Lombardy, extending to the 
Alps, composed of five ducal potentates, virtually independent 
of each other established with much princely splendor and 
power in the great cities. Genoa and Venice were popular 
cities, of but small territorial extent, but majestic in maritime 
power. Such is a general, not a minute and accurate view of 
Italy at this time. 

Milan was the most powerfrd of the Lombard prindpalities. 
Biit Verona, Mantua, Padua, and the duchies of Ferrara and 
Modena were by no means insignificant. Gunpowder began 
now to be used upon the field of battle ; but in that early day 
the new weapons, clumsily constructed, had comparatively but 
little efficiency in the field. Genoa and Venice had established 
immense factories along the whole circuit of thiB Black sea^ 
where they gathered the spices and merchandise of India, and 
the frirs and other commodities of Russia. Here again, on 
these distant waters the squadrons of the two rival cities met 
m hostile array. 

In January, 1352, the Venetian squadron, numbering sev. 
enty-five galleys, and the Genoese with but sixty-four, though 
of larger size, encountered each other in the Bosphorns, near 
Oonstantinople. As they rushed together in the shock of war, 
a terrific storm blackened over their heads, with vivid flaskee 
of lightning and peals of thunder, while a tornado swept the 
waves with resistless fury. Regardless of thunder, and light* 
ning, and wind, and rain, through the long, dark, stormy 
night the fririous combatants struggled until the lurid 
ing dawned. It revealed an awfrd sight. 



ITALIAV ANABOHT* 465 

Tlie 8ea was oovered with wrecks and with the gory dead 
Hie Venetian fleet was almost destroyed. Two thousand of 
their men were slain, and fifteen hundred taken captive. The 
G^oese bought their victory dearly, having suffered nearly as 
much. The following year another terrific battle was fought, 
in which the Genoese, in their turn, were severely whipped. 
The calamity was overwhelming, and Genoa was reduced to 
despair. In their consternation they threw themselves upon 
the protection of Milan, and a Milanese governor and gar- 
rison were sent to take charge of the humiliated city. Thus 
strengthened, the conflict was renewed. The two fleets met, 
near the port of Sapienza, in the Morea, and the Venetian 
squadron was utterly destroyed. Four thousand men were 
dain, and six thousand captured. Venice, in the extreme of 
exhaustion, sued for peace. 

The duke of Milan acquired great renown by this success ; 
and flushed with pride and power he began to trample upon 
the rights of the other dukes of Lombardy. They all combin* 
ed with Venice to humble their conmion enemy. Both parties 
sought the aid of the emperor Charles FV. He coquetted 
with both parties and received the iron crown of Lombar Jy. 
He then proceeded to Rome, escorted by a brilliant army, 
where he was invested with the imperial diadem. For three 
years a miserable war infested Lombardy. At length all par- 
ties were wearied, and equally wounded and bleeding assented 
to peace. 

The Catholic historians designate the papal residence in 
Avignon as the Babylonian captivity of the popes. From the 
year 1305 to 1375, seven popes in succession resided in this 
city. It possessed many attractions for the papal court. Im- 
perial wealth had lined the streets with palaces, and the holy 
fiithers, under tiie strong arm of France, and the mere tools 
of her ambitious monarchs, had found here safety, opulence, 
and voluptuous indulgence. But at length the north of 
France was devastated by British soldiers, and plunderii^ 

20* 



4M ITALY. 

bands began to crowd down upon the riol plainfl of Yaaoluse* 
The Inxurious prelates were alarmed, and Urban Y ., though a 
Frenchman, decided to reestablish the holy see at Rome. 

With great pomp, accompanied by his cardinals, and es- 
corted by the galleys of Venice, Genoa, Pisa, and Naples, he 
passed from the Rhone to the Tiber. Rome received him 
with great exultation. Under the efficient sway of Urban the 
papal states enjoyed repose, and the pontifical power attained 
renewed splendor. The eastern empire was now crumbling 
before the might of Sultan Amurath, and the emperor, John 
PalsBologus, left Constantinople to throw himself at the feel 
of the Pontiff^ to implore his aid in rousing Europe against 
the infidels. 

But Italy was in such a distracted state, the emperor 
Charles IV. of Germany sweeping over it with his armies, 
and all the petty governments engaged in interminable wars, 
that Urban sighed for the repose of Avignon, and after a resi- 
dence of three years in Rome, returned to his French palaces, 
where he almost inmiediateiy died. Gregory XL at Avignon, 
was chosen his successor. Civil war was now desolating the 
states of the church. To quell it, Gregory XI. sent twelve 
thousand ferocious Britons, armed to the teeth, into the 
tumultuous region. They smote indiscriminately upon the 
right hand and upon the left. Even children at the breast 
were not spared. Five thousand perished in this stem chas- 
tisement by the holy father, in which infants were seized by 
tne feet and their brains dashed out against the stones. 

The duties of the sacred office rendered the pope's resi- 
dence at Rome necessary. In the midst of scenes of tumult 
blood and woe, Gregory XI. was summoned to judgment 
The cardinals met to choose his successor. Eleven were 
French, four were Italians, and one a Spaniard. The election 
was bitterly contested, for the people of Rome clamored 
agamst another foreign pontiff. The municipal govemm^it 
of Rome had assumed the form of a republic, being adminiSi 



ITALIAN AHABOHT. 46T 

lered by thirteen elected magistrates. These magistrates bent 
a deputation to demand an audience with the cardinals, that 
they might represent the wishes of the people. The sacred 
oolite rebuked them vehemently for their presumption ic 
attempting to influence an election which was under the espe- 
dal and exclusive guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

This roused the mob. The Vatican, where the cardinals 
were in conclave, was surrounded, and the Roman popu« 
lace insisted, with clamor and menace, that the Holy Spirit 
should give them a Roman, or at least an Italian pope. The 
choice fell upon a Neapolitan, who assumed the tiara and the 
keys, under the title of Urban VI. The people were ap' 
peased and the tumult ceased. 

The choice proved unhappy. The possession of power 
developed in Urban a character of caprice and tyranny. He 
threatened to excommunicate the cardinals. With singular 
forgetfolness of ecclesiastical courtesy, he called one of the 
oardinals a thief and another a fool. He threatened to create 
a large number of Italian cardinals, so that the government of 
the church should no longer be in the hands of foreigners. 

The cardinals, with very commendable spirit, met together 
and declared that the Holy Spirit had made a mistake in the 
election of Urban VI., and that they declared the election null 
and void. They then chose the cardinal of Geneva, pope, with 
the title of Clement Vll. The question is not yet settled in 
the papal church which of these two men was the true pope. 
As they were bitterly hostile to each other ; and as the deci- 
sions of the true pope was invested with almost the authority 
of divine decrees, the question must be admitted to be one of 
very serious moment. 

For forty years this untoward event produced a schism lo 
the Catholic church. France and Spain, with Joanna of 
Naples, espoused the cause of Clement VH. Italy, England, 
Germany, Hungary, and Portugal, arrayed themselves beneath 
the banners of Urban VI. Saoh of the antac^onistic popes 



4o8 ITALY. 

wasy in abifity and oharaoter, quite oontemptible. Urban VL 
with a new created oollege of nineteen Italian cardinals es- 
tablished himself at Borne. Clement Vll. with a major- 
ity of the old cardinals retired to the luxurious palaces of 
Avignon. 

Urban YI. attempted to punish Joanna of Naples for her 
support of Clement Vll. by an act of excommunication and 
deposition ; at the same time he offered the investiture of her 
kingdom to one of his Mends, Charles of Durazza. Joanna 
appealed to the antagonistic pope and his advocates for helpw 
She being now the widow of four husbands, and childless, she 
declared, as her heir, Louis, duke of Anjou, uncle of Charies 
VI. king of France. Swords were immediately drawn, and 
armies ware on the march. Charles Durazzo was hastily 
erowned king of Naples by Urban VI., and hurrying his 
march into Naples, he seized the kingdom and the queen. 
With his sword at the throat of Joanna he commanded her 
to abdicate the crown in his fhvor. Heroically she revised. 
Charles sent assassins into her prison who smothered her witk 
pillows. 

With a fine army Louis, duke of Anjou, entered the Nea- 
pdition territory, to avenge the death of the queen, and to 
claim the crown. Two years of devastation and blood passed, 
when Louis died. Urban VI., not feeling safe at Rome, trans- 
ferred his pontifical court to Naples, where he soon found 
himself involved in a quarrel with the king his own hand had 
created, over whom he had been very naturally disposed to 
exercise quite dictatorial power. The conflict waxed warm, 
and the king chased the pope into the castle of Nocera, whefv 
he vigorously besieged him. In this extremity Urban VI., as 
a desperate resoit, appealed to the party of the duke of Anjou 
for relief. Some bold barons of that party rescued him, and 
earried him in triumph to Genoa. Soon after this Charles m, 
was assassinated by his own relatives, and the kingdom of 
Naples was left in a state of nunous anarchy. 



ITALIAN AKABCHT. 4M$ 

For yesra the kingdom presented the most deplorable 
aspect of twnnlt and wretchedness. Charles IIL left a scm, 
Ladislaos, tai years old, and a daughter, Joanna. His widow, 
Margaret, acted as regent for her son. The opposite party 
proclaimed the young son of the duke of Anjou king, by the 
title of Louis IL, under the regency of his mother, Maria. 
Thus Europe rallied for war around the banners of these two 
boys. The popes, in the meantime, had each excommunicated 
the other. All Italy was in such a state of anarchy, that 
robber, barons, emerging fr<Kn their castles with well armed 
retainers, prowled about, robbing, murdering, and committing 
crimes of indescribable brutality. 

The mother of Louis took good care of him, while the 
nobles led his armies. At length, after many bloody cam- 
paigns, the French party were so &r triumphant, that Maria 
took her son and, with a powerftd fleet and a numerous train 
of French nobles, conveyed him to Naples. He was, of course, 
receiyed with the acclamations of the populace. But he de- 
veloped a character so utterly effeminate, indolent, and dis- 
solute, as soon to excite general contempt. 

Ladislaus, on the contrary, cradled amidst the storms of 
battle, at the age of sixteen joined his barons in the field. 
Marrying the heiress of the most opulent noble in Sicily, he 
vastly increased his resources. Gradually he swept the king* 
dom of his foes, and entered Naples in triumph. Louis and 
his followers, abandoning the kingdom in despair, retired by 
sea to France. 

It would be refireshing could we find one good man as a 
prominent actor in these tumultuous scenes. There doubtless 
were thousands of humble Christians, cherishing the spirit of 
thdr Saviour, and in retirement and prayer struggling along 
the path to heaven. But in the camp and the court we 
encounter little save vice and crime. Ladislaus proved a stem 
sovereign, ruling with a rod of iron. He was a stranger to 
gratitude, good faith, or mercy. 



470 ITALY. 

The beautiM Constance whom he had wedded, and through 
whose rich dowry he had gained his kingdom, he neglected, 
abandoned, divorced, imprisoned, without accusing or even 
suspecting her of any faults. His vagrant desires were weary 
of her, and he sought other charms. He afterward compelled 
the unhappy Constance to marry count Andrea, one of his 
&vorites. As she was dragged to the altar, she said indig- 
nantly and aloud, in the presence of the assembled court and 
people : 

" Count Andrea, you are to esteem yourself the most for- 
tunate cavalier of this kingdom, for you are about to reeeivv 
for your mistress the lawftd wife of your liege." 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

FBAGMBNTABT ITALY. 

Fbom a. D. 1400 TO A. D. 1600. 

A^wv or THs FimciRTH OsMnrBT. — Sobibm nr tbm Ohvbob.— Thv Thbxv PorHbi« 
Thb Orkat Ck>VNoiL OP OomTANOB.— ** €k>OD Old Temsb.**— Biatuob Tbmda^— 
Tm Dotobb or Satot.—Thi Horn or Msdiol— EiraoPB Mknaoxd bt nn 
TintK8.~THB Oexat Eueopkan Monabohib8.~Fbaomxntabt Italy.— Lbo X.~ 

FBBKOH OORQirBBTB.— SpAMDB Ooif4|UflBTB.^THB EmPBBOB CbAKLBS V. MABYBB 

or Italy.— Fatal BTB(rQeLBB.~FATB or Flobbhob.— Ti^ Dctohy or Pabma^ 

or TUSOAKY. 

rpHE morning of the fifteenth century dawned upon Italy in 
■*- clouds and gloom. The duke of Milan was master of near- 
ly all of Lombardy, and was menacing Florence with appar- 
ently resistless power. NapiCB was utterly exhausted with 
her terrific civil wars. Venice, secure within her lagoons, was 
overawed by the most merciless oligarchy. The papal power 
had fiskllen into utter contempt. The annals of those days are 
filled mainly with the record of wars, treachery, murders, ra- 
pine, and crimes of every hue. Venice, by the foulest aggres- 
sion, had extended her domain to the Adige, and the Lion of 
St. Mark, her symbolic banner, floated from the towers of 
Treviso, Feltro, Belluno, Verona, Vicenza, and Padua. 

Urban VI., who had caused the schism in the church, died 
in the year 1389, and Boniface IX. was chosen as his succes- 
sor. He died in 1404, and the cardinals, surrounded by a 
mob, in the wildest scene of tumult and uproar, raised Inno- 
^nt VII. to the papal throne. Ladislaus, the steru king of 
N^aples, drove the pope from the city, in an attempt to compel 
the states of the church to acknowledge him as their liege 
lord. He failed, and in his rage plundered and fired the city. 
Innocent soon died, and Gregory XH. was conducted to the 



4W ITALT. 

papal chair, in Roma Europe was weary, and the ohnrch 
ashamed of the schism. But the states were so ( ^ually divid- 
ed between Rome and Avignon, that it was difficult to effect 
a compromise. 

Upon the death of Clement Vll. the cardinals, at Avignon, 
Aose Benedict XIII. The university of France, disgusted 
with this state of things, refused to recognize either as legitimate 
pope ; and the discontent became so general that the cardin- 
als, to rescue the church from ruin, convoked a general council 
at Pisa, and summoned both popes to appear before them. 
This was new experience for God's vicegerents, and they both 
indignantly refused. Whereupon the council of Pisa, consist- 
ing of the cardinals, and a numerous body of prelates from all 
parts of the Christian world, aided by ambassadors from most 
of the crowned heads of Europe, after long and solemn delib* 
eration, performed the very extraordinary act, which thee 
amazed mankind, of deposing both Gregory XII. and Benedict 
Xni. They then elected the cardinal of Milan to the papal 
dignity with the title of Alexander V. 

There were now three popes instead of two. Benedict 
Xm., with three cardinals adhering to him, had convoked a 
council of his partisan clergy at Porpignan, a gloomy fortress 
on the frontiers of Spain. Gregory XII., with four cardinals, 
and the prelates who rallied around him, met at Ravenna , in 
Italy. And now from these three papal thrones bulls o/ ex- 
communication were hurled, like the fabled thunderbolts of 
Jove. The several powers of Europe arranged themselves on 
different sides, grasped their arms, and war continued its hide- 
ous revels. Alexander V., through many bloody battles, e»« 
tablished himself in Rome, the ancient seat of papacy. In less 
than a year he died ; and a cardinal, of disgraceful character 
succeeded, by the title of John XXIII. 

Ladislaus, of Naples, ravaged Italy like a famished tiger. 
With all the belligerents the papal quarrel seemed to be mer» 
ly the occasion they embraced to extend their dominions by 



VBAOlf BNTABT ITALY. I/S 

th^i neighbors. LadislaiiB reduced all of the stfttei 
of the church to his sway ; extended his frontiers to Tnsoany, 
and was advandng with such strides that he threatened to 
bring all Italy beneath his scepter. But death, the kindest 
ally of oppressed mankind, struck the tyrant down. In loath- 
some disease, torn with convulsions, and shrieking in agony, 
he sank into the grave — ^and Italy drew a long breath of relie£ 

The shameful struggles of the popes still agitated all 
Europe, desolating wide realms with conflagration and car* 
nage. The emperor Sigismund, of Glermany, a debauched 
voluptuary, but a man of marvelous energy of character, 
undertook to terminate the strife. In several personal inter- 
views with John XXm., he overawed the holy father, and 
compelled him to invite a council of the clergy of Christen- 
dom in the imperial city of Constance, on the shore of the 
lake of the same name. The pope and the emperor in person 
attended this famous council ; and there was also the gather* 
ing of ambassadors from nearly all the princes and states of 
£urope. This memorable council was composed of twenty 
cardinals, one hundred and seventeen patriarchs and bishops, 
six hundred ecclesiastics of next higher rank, and four thou- 
sand priests. There were also twenty-six princes present and 
one hundred and forty counts. 

John XXin., finding that the council was on the eve of 
depo^ng all three of the popes, fled from Constance in the 
disguise of a groom, and threw himself upon the protection 
of Frederic, duke of Austria. But a division of the imperial 
army pursued the fugitive, and brought him back a prisoner 
to Constance. Gregory XII., alarmed by this example, threw 
down both tiara and keys, and was thankful to retain the 
office of cardinaL Benedict XIQ., sustained by the powerfld 
arm of Spain, was more obstinate. But he soon fo*and him* 
sdf oonstrained to yield to the almost unanimous voice of 
Europe. The three rival popes were laid aside by the councili 
and a new pope was chosen, Otho Colouna, who assumed tht 



«74 ITALY. 

title of Martin V. The martyrdom of Jerome of Prague, and 
of John Hubs, which deeds of atrocity were perpetrated by 
this council, hardly belong to the history of Italy. 

We find individuals who say that old times were better 
than the present. Contemplate '' good old times" in Milan in 
the early part of the fifteenth century, under Giovanni, duke 
of Milan. From boyhood he had been nursed in atrocities, 
taking a fiend-like pleasure in witnessing every conceivable 
form of agony. His chief enjoyment was to see his blood- 
hounds tear down the victims he exposed to their rage. His 
huntsman fed the hounds on human flesh, to make them effi- 
cient in tearing to pieces their prey. The prisons of Milan 
were emptied, that the duke might enjoy this sport. On one 
occasion, when several gentlemen of Milan had been torn to 
pieces by his hounds, the innocent, helpless son of one of these 
gentlemen was thrown into the arena. The dogs, sated with 
blood, refused to fasten upon the poor child, when the duke 
himself drew his sword and ripped open the bowels of his 
victim, kneeling before him and crying for mercy. These 
facts are authenticated beyond all possible doubt. The Mends 
of this child assassinated the duke. What verdict shall his* 
tory pronounce upon the crime ? It is well for us all that 
infinite wisdom will sit upon the throne of final judgment. 

Filippo, the successor of this wretch on the ducal throne, 
was also his successor in infamy and brutality. He had mar- 
ried Beatrice Tenda, a lady of large fortune, that through the 
influence of her wealth he might be able to grasp the scepter. 
Having obtained the dowry and the scepter, he now wished 
to get rid of his spouse. He had already, with the basest treach- 
ery, murdered many whom he deemed in the way of his am« 
bition. Selecting a young man of his court, he accused him 
of adulterous commerce with his duchess — stretched the un- 
happy, innocent youth upon the rack, and by crushing all hii 
bones, and pouring an intolerable tide of agony along all hit 
quivering nerves, compelled his victim to avow whatever hii 



VBAGMXHTABT ITALY* itB 

toiwilO TS desired. The mangled, paJpiUting form wns Umd 
bdieaded* 

Hie wife of the duke was then placed npon the whed, tc 
eompd her to oonfess a crime of which she had not beer 
gml^. But Beatrice, with superhoman fortitude, endured 
the torture. Bone after hone was dislocated, and stiU Bei^ 
trice exclaimed, ^^I am not guilty.** Nerre after nerve quiT^ 
ered in its ftightftd aoonmuhitions of agony, and still Beatrice 
shrieked, and when she could no longer shriek, groaned, ^^I 
am innocent." And as the ax fell to terminate her sufferingSi 
with her last sigh she persisted that she was guiltless. 

God did not, in this world, summon the wretch Filippo to 
account for his crimes. He was not thwarted in any of his 
plans of ambition. By an incessant series of encroachments 
over his weaker ndghbors, he rabed Milan to a degree of 
power and splendor never known before, and he died at last 
in his own tnmquil chamber. There is in the human breast 
an instinct of justice which demands a ftiture day of retribu- 
tion. 

From the Italian chaos a new power, about this time, 
began to emerge, on the western ftontiers of the Milanese 
states. In the valley of the Savoyard watered by the little 
river of Arc, there was a petty lordship, possessed by the 
counts of Maurienne. Gradually they extended their survey 
over the whole of Savoy, a romantic realm of mountains, 
forests, and ravines, situated on the western slope of the Alps, 
and about half as large as the state of Massachusetts. By 
marriages and encroachments they pressed on, generation 
after generation, until large rural portions of Piedmont, with 
many of the important cities, fell under their dominion. The 
counts of Savoy began now to be regarded as one of the 
powers of Italy. The emperor Sigismund dignified their en- 
larged territory with the title of a duohy, and elevated the 
oonnt to a duke. Amadeus VIII. was the first duke of Savoj 
bemg raised to that dignity in the year 1418. 



4M ITALT. 

Still Italy remained but the arena, in whioL all the nations 
of the peninsula were engaged, pell mell, in interminable 
gladiatorial conflict. There was no cessation, except to take 
breath and mend their battered arms. The millions of peas- 
ants, bareheaded, and barefooted, who toiled in the fields, 
were with difficulty enabled to raise food for themselves, and 
for the hundreds of thousands who did the fighting. In the 
great cities, a -few merchants became enriched by commerce; 
and successful generals rioted in luxury obtained by the plnin 
der of provinces. 

Suddenly Europe was alarmed by the tidings that the 
Turks, under Mahomet 11., had taken Constantinople, and that^ 
with enormous armies, flushed with victory, they were ascend- 
ing the Danube, and were also embarking on the AdriatiOi 
and threatening aU Europe with subjugation. The peril was 
eo imminent that a congress was immediately summoned, to 
meet at Rome, under the presidency of the pope, Nicholas Y. 
But the antagonistic princes, each grasping at his own ag« 
grandisement, could form no combination. Venice and Milan 
exposed to the first inroads of the Turks, alone united. Na- 
ples and Florence soon joined them. The petty states of 
Greece had fallen, one after another, into the hands of the 
Turks. The ferocious army of Mahomet 11., thdr cimeters 
dripping with blood, were within one day's march of the 
Italian frontiers. 

The pope endeavored to rouse demoralized Europe to the 
rescue, and smnmoned a rising en masse of all the faithful, to 
meet at Ancona, whence they were to be transported across 
the Adriatic to meet their infidel foes. An immense concourse 
9f half starved wretches, came in rags, hungry, -penniless, and 
without arms. The pope, already aged and infirm, in the 
intensity of his disappointment lay down and died. 

Venice, almost unaided, struggled fiercely against the 
Moslem with ever varying success. With an army, reported 
to have consisted of two hundred thousand men, oonveyed ii 



VBA«MBNTABT ITALY, W 

finir hundred galleys, the Turks entered the Archipei^^go, 
lerested the large and important island of Negropont from 
the Venetians, and pat all the defenders of this island to the 
Bword. The Venetians were compelled to sue for peace, after 
a straggle of fifteen years. The victorioas Saltan exacted 
fiom them large portions of their territory, and an annual 
tribute. The Turks also took possession of the Euzine, wrest- 
ing from Qenoa all her possessions and Idl her influence on 
the shores of this inland sea. 

The rise of the house of Medici in Florence, is one of 
those events in Italian history which deserves especial notice. 
Cosmo de Medici, who may be regarded as the founder of 
this house, was one of the most illustrious of men. For 
thirty years he governed Florence with singular sagacity, 
embellishing the city with the most gorgeous specimens of 
architecture, and founding galleries of art which still attract 
the admiration of the world. This family attained such power 
and became so obnoxious to pope Sextus IV., that the holy 
&ther, a scandalous old man, surrounded by pampered ille- 
gitimate children, conspired for the assassination of the two 
brothers of the duke — Giuliano and Lorenzo— in the midst 
of the most solemn offices of religion. As the kneeling vic- 
tims bowed, at the elevation of the host, in high mass, two 
ecdeeiastics were to plunge the fatal daggers. 

Giuliano fell instantly, pierced to the heart by several 
blows. LiOrenzo, warding the thrust, which but slightly 
grazed his neck, threw his cloak around his arm for a shield, 
and, with his sword, courageously defended himself untU his 
attendants rushed to his aid. The whole church was filled 
with consternation. Rapidly the friends of the Medici rallied 
around Lorenzo, and he was conveyed in safety to his palace^ 
The indignation of the mob was so roused, by this outrage, 
that they fell with the utmost fury, upon the conspirators. 
The archbishop of Salviati, one of the accomplices, was hangedi 
in his prelatical vobes, from the window of his palace. Ser* 



4T6 ITALT. 

eril other high ecclesiastics suffered the same ignomiiiioTifl 
punishment. More than seventy of the conspirators were cut 
down, and their bodies were exposed to every conceivabk 
indignity in the streets. 

At this time the church, in its external organization, as 
« hierarchy, was but a politica] institution, in the hands of 
«ien generally corrupt. The dignities of the church, confer- 
ring unmense wealth and power, were more eagerly sought 
for than those of the army or the state. Hence, ambitious 
demagogues, rowdy and dissolute barons, and the debauched 
sons of princes, sat in the pontifical chair, and were decorated 
with the gorgeous robes of bishops, archbishops, and cardi- 
dinals. The spirit of piety had fled from the high places of 
renown, and taken refuge in the bosoms of the lowly. As 
history has ahnost exclusively confined her walks to the 
pageantry of courts and the tumult of camps^ we have but 
few records of that true spirit of Christ, which doubtless, in 
those dark days, sustained thousands, under life's heavy bur- 
dens. We occasionally hear their plaintive song of triumjdi 
in the dungeon, and their cry of victory, from the stake or 
the scai&>ld. 

Sextus lY. enraged at the fidlure of the conspiracy, de- 
clared open war against Lorenzo de Medici, without any 
attempt to disguise his complicity in the plot for his assas- 
sination. He excommunicated the whole duchy of Florence, 
in punishment for the ignominious execution of archbishop 
Salviati. The Florentine government appealed to the rest of 
Italy for support, and summoned the Tuscan clergy to a gen- 
eral council. The king of France publicly remonstmted with 
the pope, against the prosecution of an unjust war, Sextus 
IV., bent on his purposes, formed an alliance with Ferdinand 
of Naples, and war again, with even more than ordinary ban 
barity and horror, swept ill-ikted Italy. 

The conflict was raging cruelly when Italy, and indeed all 
Burope, was thrown into consternation by the tidings that thu 



FBAGMBHTABT ITALY. 479 

Tntfa had landed in great force at Otranto, an important seft' 
port at the southeast extremitj of the kingdom of Naples. 
The citj was taken by storm, and the inhabitants perished in 
a horrible massacre. The sultan, Mahomet 11., with twenty- 
five thousand troops, was encamped on the opposite coast of 
the Adriatic, ready to be transported across the sea. He had 
also seven thousand in garrison at Otranto, waiting for the 
arrival of this army of invasion, then to march vigorously 
npon Rome. But such was not God's will. Death suddenly 
terminated the earthly schemes of the Moslem sovereign. 
Thus was Christendom rescued from the greatest peril to 
which it had ever been exposed. 

The struggling nations of Italy, in their terror, had, for a 
momont, ceased their fraternal strife, to defend themselves 
from the common foe. But the death of the sultan, and the 
consequent withdrawal of his army, was but the signal for the 
renewal of the insane fratricidal warfare. Sextus IV. was, 
however, frustrated in his ambitious plans ; and a great and 
sudden disappointment threw him into a paroxysm of passion 
which hastened his death, in the year 1484. 

Innocent the Vlll., a voluptuous sinner, the unmarried 
father of seven children, all of whom he openly acknowledged, 
succeeded Sextus IV. The hoary debauchee loved ease better 
than power. Instead of fostering wars, he engaged in the 
less destructive crimes of extortion and luxurious indulgence. 
Ferdinand of Naples secured the election of Innocent VUl. 
to the pontifical throne ; and the indolent, sensual pontiff, nat- 
urally kind-hearted, for a time manifested his gratitude by a 
ready compliance with all the wishes of his patron. But Fer 
dinand, arrogant and brutal, pushed his exactions so far tha 
thd pope rebelled, and a war ensued, which was conducted 
with but little vigor. During the intrigues to which this war 
led, Lorenzo de Medici, of Florence, married his daughter to 
one of the natural sons of the pope, and thus paved the way 



480 ITALT. 

ibr the elevation of the family of the Medid to the highest 

position of ecdesiastical grandeor. 

The imbecile pontiff shamefiilly bestowed th<4 dignity of 
cardinal upon Giovanni, the second son of Lorenzo, a boy bat 
thirteen years of age. The boy cardinal subsequently became 
pope Leo X. ; perhaps the most renowned pontiff who ever 
reigned in the Vatican. Lorenzo de Medid was one of the 
most illustrious men which any age has produced. It is diffi 
cult to find any one of his contemporaries who equaled him in 
the moral beauty of his life. His tastes were pure and enno- 
bling, and in all respects his private character was such as 
even in this day would be deemed unsullied and attractive. 
The enthusiasm of his intellectual nature and his exquisite 
taste for the arts, and the splendid patronage he extended to 
scholars, architects, and all artists, have associated his name 
with perhaps the most brilliant epoch in Italian history, and 
have assigned to him one of the most prominent niches in the 
temple of &me. Under the sagacious and energetic sway of 
the Medici, Florence attained its highest pinnacle of power. 

Lorenzo de Medici and Innocent VllL died nearly at the 
same time. The long anarchy of the feudal ages was passing 
to a close. From this anarchy the powerful kingdoms of 
England, France, Spain, and Austria had emerged. Italy, still 
broken into fragments and distracted with internal strife, was 
menaced by each of these consolidated and gigantic powers. 
Italian independence could by no possibility be preserved but 
by the cordial union and concentration of the Italian states ; 
and this union it was impossible to effect. All the four great 
kingdoms we have enumerated, were struggling, by all the 
arts of intrigue and arms, to grasp the Italian provinces, and 
annex them to their own domains. 

Ludovica Sporza, duke of Milan, endeavored to form an 
Italian confederacy, and sent ambassadors for this purpose to 
Naples, Florence, Rome, and to the duke of Ferrara. But 
mutual jealousies were so strong, and selfish ambition so 



VBAGMXHTAmT ITALY. 46^ 

Anmnant, that no muoD oonld be effected. The ItaDan states 
were all hostile to eadi other, eaeh striving to seonre Ha owa 
i^ggrandizement by weakening its neighbor. Charles VIIL of 
France daimed Naples, and sent an army for its conqueet| 
and, with powerfhl bribes, induced both Milan and Venice to 
help him. 

The French monarch marched, unopposed, through Savoys 
Piedmont, Milan, and Tuscany to Rome. The infamous Alex 
ander YL, who was then pope, and in alliance with NapleSi 
finding himsdf quite unaUe to defend the city, threw open 
the gates, and Charles VIU. entered the eternal city, display 
mg war's most gorgeous pageantry. At three o'clock in the 
aftonoon of a bright and sunny day, the French army, 
amounting to siz^ thousand men, in gay uniform, with 
polished armor, prancing steeds, silken lianners, and pealing 
music, began to defile into the city. It was long after dark 
ere the last battalions entered, and ten thousand torches threw 
wild and lurid gleams over the dark masses of the soldiery, as 
the very pavemoits seemed to tremble beneath the tread of 
thdr solid columns. 

Alfonso n., of Naples, was a cruel tyrant, detested by hk 
people. As the French drew near the Neapditan firontierSi 
the execrations of the populace resounded beneath his palace 
windows ; and in terror he abdicated the throne in favor of 
his son, Ferdinand IT., and fled to Sicily. The French 
marched resistlessly onward, battering down the castles with 
their formidable artillery, and putting the garrison to the 
sword. The Neapolitan soldiers fled at their advance, like 
sheep before wolves. Capua surrendered without striking a 
Uow. As the French monarch approached the city of Naples, 
Ferdinand U., in despair, abandoned his kingdom, and souglit 
refuge, with his famOy, in the little island of Ischia. The 
French entered Naples in triumph, and their banners soon 
floated over every fortress in the kingdom. 

The whole French army, thus triumphant, surrendered 

21 



MS IVALT. 

kadf to those yolnptaons mdnlgences to which a delioiooi 
climate, a loxurionB capital, and the plundered opulence of a 
kingdom invited them. The other states of Italy were alarm- 
ed. Yenice and Lombardy entered into negotiations with 
Austria and Spain, and formed a coalition for the expulsion of 
Charles Vlll. The tidings came upon the French like a thun- 
derbolt from a cloudless sky. There was no safety for them 
but in a spee